Not My Type
by AllzStar
Summary: The way I saw it, I had three choices. One, I let her die peacefully. Two, I bite her myself and hope for the best. And three, I surrender her completely to the bloodsuckers with a one-hundred percent chance of her living. It was killing me. JacobxOC
1. Bella

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Bella -

I stood on my toes, trying to catch a glimpse of her through the throngs of people in the over-crowded airport. Naturally, I almost toppled over; Jasper caught me before my horrible balance could throw me to the floor. I murmured my thanks and turned my face away to hide my blush.

I was glad that Jasper had opted to come with me instead of Edward—his calming effects worked wonders on my silly nerves at seeing my old best friend—but I didn't know him very well and I didn't want to look like an idiot in the earliest stages of our relationship.

Though, as much as I was embarrassing myself, I wanted to leave the best for last. Emma wouldn't meet Edward until tonight—we would head over to the Cullen's after dinner to get my old friend acquainted with my boyfriend and his family.

Of course, Edward had freaked out when I'd suggested bringing yet another unsuspecting human into the Cullen household. But I had somehow managed to convince him to welcome Emma for at least a couple of hours. But I wasn't going to let her in on the whole vampire—or werewolf, for that matter—thing going on in the small, rainy town of Forks. Edward had made me swear on Charlie's life. Funny how he hadn't put my own life on the line. I didn't know how long she was staying, but I knew it wasn't permanent; surely she would head back to Phoenix when summer kicked around. She'd want to get back to the sun for volleyball, of course.

"Is that her?" Jasper asked me, pointing through the crowd.

I followed his gesture and gasped excitedly. There, standing awkwardly and out in the crowd by the luggage carousel, was Emma Harper, the girl who had been my best friend in Arizona since kindergarten. I barely recognized her at first, but then I saw her customized Beatles purse and knew it had to be her.

I pushed my way through the crowd, Jasper at my heels. Emma saw me coming and waved frantically. I finally reached her and barely had time to say hello before she had her arms around me, pulling me into a tight, almost uncomfortable hug.

"Bella!" she cried, bouncing up and down with me in her arms.

I just laughed, joining her in jumping.

We finally separated long enough to look at each-other. "Wow," I said, looking up at her. "You're tall!"

Emma had always been taller than me, but she must have grown a lot over the year and a half we'd been apart. She had to be at least five nine now. She was willowy, too—one of those girls whose body mass lay in their height rather than weight. She had bulked up, too. She'd always been sporty; her speciality was volleyball and she was the best on the court in all of Phoenix. Her skin was tanned to a perfect, café-au-lait colour and her sun-bleached hair was cropped to her shoulders and fanned out at the tips.

She looked very, very different. She was almost a completely different girl from the Emma I had left back in Phoenix. What I remembered was a thin, meek girl with long, sandy blonde hair and sad eyes. Now her eyes were alive with excitement and enthusiasm and her body was so athletic and strong that I felt very weak next to her.

But once look deep into her bright blue eyes was enough to know that she was still the Emma I remembered—she just looked different and seemed…happier. Which was great. She had never been the same after her mom died.

Emma was beaming down at me. "Five ten-and-a-half," she confirmed, talking of her height. She laughed when my eyes opened wide. "And look what else is new!" She smiled, showing straight, white teeth.

"No braces!" I cried.

She giggled. "I got 'em off last week. I keep running my tongue over them." As if to confirm the habit was true, she passed her tongue over her pearly whites. "And I've grown four inches since you last saw me," she added, lifting her chin so I could take in her full height. That was when she saw Jasper for the first time. Her eyes widened, but she remained polite. "Who's this Bella?" She gave me a look that clearly suggested she thought this was the boy I had been talking about all year.

Instinctively, I placed a hand on Jasper's upper back, as if to tell him it was okay. I had no idea why.

"This is Jasper," I introduced. "He's Edward's brother. Jasper, this is Emma."

"Oh, I've heard lots about Edward and family, believe me," Emma teased, rolling her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Jasper."

They shook hands, and Jasper looked a little taken aback that Emma was so friendly to him right off the bat—or maybe it was because he was barely taller than her.

I noticed what she was wearing then: a pair of jean walking-shorts and a t-shirt. "You're gonna freeze," I pointed out, gesturing to her outfit. "It's barely two degrees out there, and it's raining."

"I brought my rain jacket," she explained. "It's in my suitcase. I just need to wait for it."

She was also wearing flip-flops. Where did she think she'd landed? Mexico?

Emma's heart-shaped face fell a little, but soon she was all smiles again. "You look good, Bella. I like what you've…done with your hair."

"I haven't done anything with my hair," I said. "But thank you." I groaned inwardly. Awkward moments already. I knew it wouldn't be the same with Emma. One of us—or both of us—had changed so drastically we didn't fit anymore. Oh, well. It was still nice to see her.

Just then a familiar blue suitcase was thrown onto the carousel. Jasper bent to pick it up.

"How did you know that was mine?" Emma wondered as Jasper set it at her feet.

Jasper looked at her, startled. "It is yours, isn't it?"

"Yes, but how did you know that?"

"The tag has your name on it…." Jasper pointed to the tag strapped around the handle of her bag. He name was printed on it in tiny letters.

Emma whistled. "Wow. You must have, like, twenty-twenty vision or something."

I bit back a giggle. More like…I dunno, eighty-eighty vision?

It was a relief to get out of the stuffy Seattle airport and into the cool Washington air—it had finally stopped raining. Just as I had expected, Emma started shivering.

"Well, welcome to Washington," I told her sarcastically as she dug through her suitcase. We had arrived at the car (I had insisted on riding in the Volvo rather than Alice's Porsche) and Emma had it open in the trunk.

Emma grinned and emerged with a navy blue hoodie and her rain jacket. "I'm sure going to miss the sun."

I still didn't know why Emma was here. She had phoned me up two days ago asking if she could crash at my place for a while. I also didn't know how long she would be staying for.

It was a very long drive back—longer than it had taken to get to the airport, anyway. Jasper, like the rest of the Cullens, liked to drive very fast, and we had gotten to Seattle in two hours. It would take twice that time to get back, for obvious reasons. We couldn't drive fast with someone who wasn't expecting the incredible acceleration in the car.

It was a very long ride. Jasper was at the wheel, with me riding shotgun. Emma chattered happily in the backseat, telling us of Phoenix and volleyball and other things I really didn't care about. I endured her, though—mostly because I knew something bad had happened to her. Why else would she suddenly want to escape to rainy old Forks, and to stay with me, a friend she hadn't seen in over a year? But after an hour or so of nonstop talk I switched on a CD and that seemed to shut her up.

When we got to Forks, though, she started talking over the music. Mostly just comments about the green-ness, the rain, and how much she was looking forward to spending time with me. I hoped that was true. I really didn't want to be someone's escape plan.

We finally arrived at Charlie's house; I thanked Jasper as sincerely as I could manage and helped him unload all of Emma's things from the trunk. He offered to help lug it inside, but I said we could manage, not wanting him to go any more out of his way. He got back in the car and waved as he drove off. I waited until the taillights rounded the corner before letting out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

It was dark, now. I checked my watch. Seven. I'd promised Edward we would be over at eight.

I unlocked the door to the house and led Emma to the family room. "This is your room," I said sheepishly, gesturing to the lumpy couch. "Sorry we don't have a proper room for you."

"This is fine," she replied, still merry. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "I think I might catch some Z's now, actually."

"Um," I said, biting my lip. "I actually promised Edward we'd be over at eight for appies and stuff…."

Emma suddenly didn't look tired at all. "Oh, _really_?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkly with excitement. "I get to meet Edward so soon?"

"I didn't think you'd want to wait," I murmured.

"I have to get changed!" she cried, lunging for her suitcase.

"The bathroom is at the top of the stairs," I called over my shoulder. I was already halfway up the staircase myself, on the way to my room. "Call if you need anything."

Safely locked in my room, I stripped out of my tatty hoodie and sweatpants and pulled on my nicest pair of jeans and a purple blouse. I brushed out my hair and arranged it in a twist at the base of my neck, pinning my too-long bangs back out of my face. I even put on a little make-up. I felt like trying to look nice tonight.

When I went downstairs, Emma was in the kitchen, looking out the window over the sink. She had changed into jeans and a tight, pine-green sweater that showed off her athletic body. I almost grimaced, but she turned to look at me.

"It's really pretty here," she commented airily, as if she was talking more to herself. She shook her head and appraised me. "You look nice. That colour looks great on you."

"Thanks," was all I could say.

"Well…." Emma tapped her thighs nervously, her eyes darting around the room.

An awkward pause. Then, "Why are you here?" I blurted out.

Emma's eyes widened slightly at my bluntness. "What?"

"I mean…why did you come so suddenly? What made you want to come to rainy old Forks?"

"I wanted to visit you," she said quietly.

"Come on, Emma," I snapped. "I know you better than that. What happened in Phoenix?"

Emma went to sit at the kitchen table. She rested her chin in her palm and looked everywhere but at me. "My dad got remarried, Bella."

Instantly my face, posture and tone got softer. "Oh." I went to sit across from her and took her hand in mine. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Well, I'm also sorry for freaking out like that. I shouldn't have."

"It's okay, Bella. I realize how much of a hassle I'm being right now. I hope not to stay here too long. I just needed to get away, you know? And I thought I might use the opportunity to see you. I've missed you, Bells. Phoenix isn't the same without you, you know."

This was followed by another pause, but this time it wasn't awkward. I broke the silence by saying, "Do you want to head over now?"

"Won't we be early?" she asked, perking up a little.

"I'm sure Edward won't mind," I said, knowing all too well that Alice had had everything ready hours ago. "Let's go."

We stepped out into the night. Crickets sang, and the air smelled like rain, although it wasn't. I turned on the heater in the truck and soon the cab was toasty warm. Emma was very enthusiastic about my truck, and I was glad to hear it. I had honestly be worried that she would find my new life lowly.

The trip was mostly silent, with just short questions and monosyllable answers. Neither of us had much to say, and neither of us minded. We were together again, and that was all that mattered.

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry if this chapter was a little boring. I promise it will get more interesting!! Please R&R and keep checking back!**


	2. Emma

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

If anything else, Forks was beautiful. I had to admit that. But there was nothing particularly special about it except the alien-like greenness everywhere. I didn't know what I had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.

Bella's truck, though, was really something else. I loved it. The cab was warm and toasty, and the old school roar of the engine was comforting to me. It reminded me of my dad's old truck that he used to take me out in every Saturday morning to go bird watching.

Thinking of my dad made my heart swell, and my gut clenched up. I did miss him, but I couldn't have stayed another day in the same house as that monster he was going to marry. I didn't even know if I would be back in time for the wedding. As much as I wanted to be there for my dad, I didn't think I could face Linda ever again. I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back my tears. I wanted to have a good time tonight, and Bella didn't need to be dragged into my self-pity zone. She was the one doing me a favour.

Regardless of my feelings about my father, I was reluctant to leave the safe confinements of Bella's truck. The trip seemed much shorter than Bella had described originally. In almost no time at all, Bella was saying "We're here" and was climbing out of the cab.

We had arrived at a huge house that was almost obscured by trees. The complex design of it reminded me of my dad's ambitious architectural dreams. Fighting back the fresh wave of sadness, I followed Bella inside.

I barely suppressed I gasp when I entered the house. Everything was wide open, bright white, and the entire back wall was glass. It was incredible. I stood there, gaping, as Bella stepped over the threshold and called for her boyfriend and his family.

When they entered the room I instantly forgot the amazing white room I now stood in. I recognized Jasper, the gorgeous blond that had come with Bella to get me from the airport. I smiled and nodded at him, and he attempted a friendly smile back.

A tiny, dark-haired girl was curled into Jasper's side, and her wide eyes were looking up at me in a friendly way. She danced forward to kiss my cheek, and I blushed.

Bella quickly introduced her as Alice. Then she pointed out the rest of the family: Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme and Emmett….Edward.

As soon as she said the name I searched the room…and there he was. It had to be him. Bella's Edward.

I flashed an "Oh-my-God-girl-you-are-SO-lucky" look and shook Edward's ice cold hand.

The whole family was beautiful. All of them. They were all perfect, pale, graceful and impossible to look away from. I felt very, very plain next to them. I couldn't help but stare as each one of the Cullens walked farther into the white room more gracefully than I would have thought possible.

It was a very nice evening. Esme prepared wonderfully snack foods and was the perfect hostess, making sure Bella and I were always comfortable. Edward wouldn't take his eyes—or his arm—off Bella, and I smiled at how happy they seemed. The stunning blonde girl, Rosalie, eyed me wearily for the first hour or so, but finally we managed to get involved in some sort of conversation about cars. Emmett joined in, and so did Jasper. Carlisle and Esme had disappeared, and Alice and Edward and Bella were engrossed in their own little world.

Next thing I knew, Bella was whispering in my ear. "We should go. It's getting late, and Charlie will be waiting."

I didn't try to hide my disappointment as I shrugged into my ugly rain jacket. Alice kissed me again, and Emmett wrapped me into a huge bear hug that had me gasping for breath. Jasper gave me an awkward one-armed hug. And that was it for the physical. The rest of them just waved and wished us a good night. Bella and I waved back, smiling and shouting endless thank-yous, as we walked back to her toasty truck.

"So," said Bella as the truck engine roared to life, "what do you think of them?"

"They're quite something," I said as we started down the road. "They're incredibly nice. That Emmett sure knows his cars."

"Yeah, since when are you into cars?"

"Since the Arizona Car Show," I confessed, flushing. "My dad took me to it at the beginning of last year, and now I'm hooked."

Bella laughed. "Well I'm glad you had a good time."

"I did. Thanks for taking me. And that Edward…he's _gorgeous_. They all are. It must run in the family or something." I paused. "Carlisle and Esme seem awfully young, though."

"They're all very young looking," Bella said thoughtfully. "And yes, they're all beautiful."

"I'm so happy for you," I said quietly after a moment of silence. "You've chosen really well. And I think that boy is in love with you."

She laughed. "That's exactly what my mom said."

I giggled too. We didn't talk for a long time. In fact, it wasn't until we were a block from Charlie's house that Bella said, "So what do you want to do tomorrow? It'll be Sunday."

"Hmm." I thought for a moment, although I knew exactly what I wanted to do. "Well, depends on what you want to do. I know someone will want to see Edward." We smiled at each other.

"No, tomorrow is for you. What do you want to do?" Bella asked.

"Could we maybe go down to that beach…La Push, was it? I want to meet this Jacob you're always talking about. Maybe the Cullens can come along."

Bella's face fell. "We could go to La Push…but I can't promise that Jacob will be there. And the Cullens don't go down there."

Something about her tone of voice told me she was not happy with either fact. "Why not?"

"Something about ancient rivalry. The Quileutes will tolerate the Cullens in town so long as they don't step foot on the reserve."

I didn't want to get into details because Bella seemed reluctant to, so I asked, "And Jacob?"

"I don't know." Bella's face instantly took on a look of sadness.

We had arrived at Charlie's house. I climbed down from the cab as Bella made sure her truck was healthy. I went around to her side and waited for her to get out before I questioned her again. "You don't know what?"

"If Jacob will be at La Push. He's been…missing for a few weeks." She refused to meet my gaze, and I knew she was close to tears.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," I told her, putting an arm around her shoulders. I steered her to the front door.

Bella shrugged. "I'm okay. We'll talk before bed, alright?"

"Sure."

Bella unlocked the door and we each went our separate ways to get into our pyjamas and such. When I was ready I went up to Bella's room. She was sitting on her bed, and her phone was pressed to her ear. I quietly slipped into the room and shut the door softly. Bella seemed to be listening intently to the person on the other end of the line.

"Is he okay?" she asked, her eyes wide. Pause. Then she sighed and a weak smile broke across her pretty face. "Oh, thank God. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Billy. Tell him I said hi. I'll be right over, first thing in the morning to see him. Have a good-night. You too. Bye." She hung up and slammed the phone onto the bed. She leaned her head back and let out a relieved moan.

"Who was that, Bells?" I asked, crossing the room and sitting cross-legged at the foot of her bed.

"That was Billy Black, Jacob's dad," Bella explained. "He was phoning to say that Jacob came home this evening, tired and hungry. They aren't sure where he's been as he refuses to talk, but he doesn't seem to be injured. I promised Billy I'd be over tomorrow to see if I can get some answers." She looked at me. "Guess you'll get to meet him after all."

I smiled and went to give Bella a hug. "You were really worried, weren't you?"

"Yes," she admitted, returning to hug. "I'm so glad he's safe. You don't even know."

"I can't figure out who you like more: Edward or Jacob," I commented. I sat parallel next to her and crossed my ankles.

Bella's eyes narrowed a little. "I love them both," she explained. "But it's different. Edward is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. My one and only. Jacob is my best friend in the world. I…love them both."

I tried not to let the hurt that I'd been so quickly replaced show on my face. "Well I'm glad you've found roots here, Bells. Even though I miss you so bad back in Phoenix."

Bella smiled and turned to turn her clock radio on. A bad Taylor Swift song came blaring out of the speakers, and after a moment of ear-plugging, I jumped up and grabbed one of Bella's pillows. Bouncing lightly on the bed, I danced crazily to the music, using the pillow as my partner. Bella was laughing hysterically as she took her own pillow and whacked me with it. When I hit her back with mine, she jumped up, and we started the pillow fight. We spent about twenty minutes jumping on the bed, belting each-other with pillows and listening to obnoxious Taylor Swift songs.

Finally, out of breath and gasping with hysterical laughter, we settled down on Bella's bed and chatted for a bit. Before either of us knew it, we passed out there, on top of the covers, dreaming of the possibilities of the now bright future.


	3. Jacob

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

I stormed out of the house, nearly taking out the screen door as I went. It banged shut behind me, but the sound was drowned out by my roar of rage. I could feel the rippling begin under my skin, the familiar trembles working their way down my spine. I fought for control, and deciding it was hardly worth the effort, tore into the save cover of the woods and phased.

I ran through the forest until I was deep enough in that no human was in danger of meeting me. I sat down and panted, letting all the excess anger wear off slowly. I hated to admit it, but Sam was right. I needed to learn how to control my temper. I used to be good at it, but lately I phased every time one little, insignificant thing pissed me off.

When I was sure I was calm enough to be human, I phased back, and stretched out on the forest floor, face up. I stared at the underside of the treetops, breathed in the familiar sent of the ferns and the rain. My human senses could not smell it, but suddenly my wolf senses kicked in and sniffed cautiously at the nasty stench in the air. It smelled like…vampire.

I growled, not in anger, but in irritation. I didn't know how far from the reservation I had wandered, but I definitely didn't feel like fighting off any blood-suckers, especially if it was one of the Cullens. Not that the idea of ripping their heads off didn't appeal to me, but I really didn't need to give Bella yet another reason to hate my guts.

I took off through the trees, phasing as I went just to make finding my way back home easier. I ignored the dull throbbing in my chest. Stupid, stupid, I thought to myself as the trees whipped by me. Why was it that my body could heal a shattered bone in a day but one little imaginary hole in my heart hurt like a bitch for months?

As soon as the house and yard came in sight, I phased back, dropping into a casual lope as I exited the trees. I strolled down to the beach, kicking at a few loose stones, sending them skittering into the steel waves.

"Jacob!" I heard my dad calling me, but I didn't respond. He would have to come and get me if he wanted me. "Jacob!" I groaned, but didn't give in. "Jake! Bella's here!"

My reaction was ridiculous. There was a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling in my…well, gut. My palms became sweaty, which never happened. And I gasped—twice—for air as my heart raced in my ribcage.

I wheeled and sprinted for the house.

Bella's truck was parked on the side of the road, and it was empty. Was she inside? I ran to the door.

"Is he here?" I heard an all-too familiar voice ask through the screen door.

I stopped in my tracks. Did she really want to see me for me? Or did she just want to yell at me? I listened for my dad's response, but either it was too quiet for even my subconscious wolf senses to hear or he didn't answer at all. When nothing else was sad, I took a huge breath, reminding myself half-heartedly to let it out, and went inside.

Nobody was in the kitchen, so I passed through to the living room; all the while my whole body was shivering and sweaty and that clenching feeling was still in my gut. I told myself over and over to calm the hell down, but it hardly made a difference.

I rounded the corner, and there was Bella. Bella, _my _Bella, my beautiful, beautiful Bella. She stood up from the couch when I came in, her mouth hanging open a fraction. Her soft brown hair was half pulled back, her doe-eyes wide with…happiness? Relief? Irritation?

Next thing I knew she had crossed the room and she was in my arms. _My arms. _Where I'd always thought she belonged. I pulled her against my naked torso, my arms holding her tight, secure. Her arms reached for my neck, and I lifted her up so she could get there better. I buried my face in her shoulder, breathing in the strawberry-tinted scent of her hair. Tears prickled my eyes but I blinked them back, forcing myself to keep my cool. I'd never been so elated to see someone in my life.

Bella was murmuring things in my ear, sweet little things like "Oh, my, God", "I missed you so much" and finally "_Jacob_!" And then she was crying. Sobbing like a child, dissolving completely, her salty tears staining the front of my shirt. I just held her all the tighter, pressing my face to the top of her head, still breathing her in. She stuttered my name through her tears over and over again, and I found that I adored the way she said it. I never wanted to let her go.

But she remembered herself and pulled away. I kept my hands at her waist, though. I didn't want to let go just yet. "Hey, Bells," I moaned softly, absently reaching up to brush her cheek, then tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, Jacob, do you have any idea how much I've missed you?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea, Bella," I replied, pulling her into me again.

She wrapped her thin arms around my waist and squeezed, then released. This time I let her go, but kept my hand on her shoulder. She sniffled for a minute, and when she had composed herself she said quietly, "Jake, this is my friend Emma. She's visiting from Phoenix."

"Hi," I said without even looking. I couldn't take my eyes off Bella.

"Hey," said a voice, soft as wind chimes. "Bella's told me so much about you."

Curiosity got the best of me and I looked up and into a pair of big, sparkling blue eyes.

I froze. I couldn't even blink. I felt like I was suddenly wrapped in a big, black vortex, and it was sucking the air from me. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling. I gaped, and I was sure I looked like an idiot, but I didn't really care. Snap, snap, snap, went the strings that tied me down to my regular, boring wolf life. I lost all sense of humanity, and let pure righteousness overpower me.

She was beautiful—maybe even more breath-taking than Bella. She was tall, willowy, and honey-blonde. Her skin was almost as dark as mine, but she was definitely Caucasian. None of that mattered. Her eyes were what captivated me the most. They stared back at me, wide with surprise and admiration. They were so blue, like a deep pool. I wanted to dive into them. I wanted to hold her, love her, kiss her, forever and ever and ever.

"Jacob?" Bella's voice was distant and worried. "Jake? What's the matter with you?"

That was when I passed out.

--

When I awoke, the sun was setting and the air had gotten much, much cooler. Something itched at my forehead. I reached up to touch it. Cold. Squishy? A wet washcloth? I tugged at it, but something warm and soft came down upon my hand. Stopping me.

"Jacob?" the voice was familiar, distant. She said my name again, tentatively, quietly, as if she wasn't sure I could hear her…

"Bella," I tried to say. It came out somewhere between a moan and a whine.

Something grasped my hand and I squeezed it. Her hand? Yes. She began stroking my hand, and I smiled as a tingly sensation spread where she touched me.

"Yes, Jake, it's me. It's Bella. Can you hear me?"

"Bella," I moaned again, reaching for her. Her unoccupied caught my searching hand and placed it again something smooth and warm…her cheek? I smiled. "Mmmm."

"Hey, buddy." Bella's hand left mine and touched my face, just below my eye. "How are you feeling?"

"Imfoin," I mumbled, stroking her cheek with my stiff fingers. When her cheek suddenly wasn't there anymore I searched for her again.

"Why doesn't he open your eyes?" Someone giggled. It didn't sound like Bella.

One at a time, I pried my eyes open. I saw Bella first. Perfect, sweet little Bella. She was perched on the edge of the couch that I was sprawled on, my limbs sticking out and over the piece of furniture, hanging. I groaned and stretched, shutting my eyes again. When I was done I opened my eyes and Bella was still there. Huh. Not a dream after all.

"Bells," I whined again. I reached for her.

She caught my hand and held it in both of hers. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I repeated. I wanted to touch her face again. It had felt so nice.

"Is he alright?" that same, unknown voice asked.

"Yeah, I think so. He's just a little confused, I think."

"Hey…Jake? You alright?"

I didn't feel like saying "I'm fine" for a third time, so I said, "I'm fucking ace!" and rolled onto my stomach, smooshing my cheek against the cushions.

Bella laughed her tinkling laugh. "Jake," she whined, "come _on. _Wake up. You've been very rude to your guests." Her tone was mockingly pouty.

"Meh," I mumbled, pushing her prying hands away. "Go 'way."

"Okay, then. Emma, let's go."

Emma. _Emma. _Something in my memory whirled, and my eyes flew open. I was up and off the couch before Bella could even begin in the direction of her jacket. My gaze fell on her, and then swept the room.

_There she was. _Leaning against the kitchen counter, a half empty glass of water in her hand. She wasn't looking at me; she was staring out the window. My sudden movement caught her attention, though, and she met my eyes. Stared. Raised her eyebrows.

"I think he's good now," she teased, and I recognized her voice as the one I had sworn at.

Bella chuckled. "Seriously, Jake, I thought you'd just dropped dead on me. I mean, was my visit really _that_ much of a surprise?"

I wasn't listening to Bella. Didn't even look at her. My gaze was fixed on Emma. My Emma.

_My _Emma? What _My _Emma? I didn't know what it meant.

"You should have seen yourself drop, Jake. Man, you just crashed to that floor like a ten ton weight. Shook the whole house. It was hilarious." Quil was leaning in the doorway, the biggest grin on his face.

I glared at him. "Shut the fuck up."

He held up his hands, mocking my might. "Whoa, boy, calm the fuck down," he countered, the grin back.

Someone giggled and my eyes immediately swept back to Emma. Her lips brushed the back of her hand as she tried to suppress her mirth. She was looking at me with some sort of…intrigue. I dunno. All I cared about was that she was looking at me.

"Maybe you should come back tomorrow, Bella," Quil was saying. "Jake's obviously not himself."

"Yeah, we should go. Come on, Emma."

I finally looked at Bella, when she said Emma's name. Bells was putting on her rain jacket.

Emma placed her unfinished glass of water on the counter and crossed the room. As she passed me, she looked at me and winked. My heart stuttered and leapt in my ribcage, thundering so loud I worried she would hear it. It was then I realized that she didn't have to look up too high; the top of her head just reached my jaw. She could tuck herself in against me, and rest her cheek on my collarbone…

It was all I could do to stop myself from throwing my arms around her and getting her to do just that. I wanted her _so bad. _More than I had ever wanted anything before, even Bella.

Emma threw her rain jacket on and stepped past Bella out into the rain. She didn't even glance back, or say good-bye. I then realized that she was leaving. _Leaving. Leaving me. _No!

"Hey, wait—!" I tried to call her back, but Quil's firm hand came down on my shoulder, stopping my words and my motion.

"Let her go, bro," he whispered into my ear.

Bella waved good-bye and left as well, following Emma up the bank to her truck. I waited until the engine roared to life and faded into the distance before turning to face Quil.

Quil smirked at whatever expression was on my face. "Amazing, isn't it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. There was no teasing in his voice. "How powerful it really is?"

"How powerful what is? What's amazing?" I asked, confused.

Now both of Quil's eyebrows shot up. "You don't _know_? Dude! Maybe you are as dumb as they say."

Too curious to get mad, I let that one by. I did take a step towards him, though. "What are you talking about?"

"You just imprinted on that chick, man!" Quil then burst into a loud, obnoxious fit of laughter, throwing his head back. "You passed out and everything!" He was really loving this. Getting a real kick, he was.

I was too shocked to get mad, though. I stared at my friend in disbelief as he doubled over with mirth. "Imprinted?" I whispered. I looked down at my hands, as if they were somehow responsible. I wheeled and looked at myself in the hall mirror. I didn't look any different. The expression on my face was the only unfamiliar thing. Shocked...disbelieving…and totally, unconditionally happy. I had never seen myself look so happy. Not ever. I had never felt this good, either.

"Yeah, man! That's what it was: that feeling of being cut off from the world, everything else disappears, you're suddenly in a vortex…that's it, dude! That's imprinting! And you done it, right smack dab on Bella's best friend!"

And then it dawned on me.

I freaked out. I completely lost it. I jumped up and down, ignoring Quil's shouts and the rumbling house. I turned and took off out the door. I sprinted down to the beach and didn't stop. I went right into the water. The freezing cold water barely scathed my flaming hot skin. When I came up to breathe, I stood, droplets rolling off my body, the waves lapping gently at my hips. I stuck my fists in the air and screamed. Just screamed and screamed and screamed. It was a joyful, blind-man-seeing-the-sun-for-the-first-time scream. It lasted forever. Birds squawked and took off, painting the dull grey sky. But to me, it was the most beautiful day ever. The skies were blue, without a cloud in it, and the sun was shining, beating down on me, standing in the ocean and screaming like I was the biggest idiot on the planet. But to me, I might as well have just won the lottery.

_I had finally imprinted. _


	4. Heat

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

I swear that Bella's face probably ranged between fifty shades of red and pink on the way home. I didn't know what her problem was; it wasn't like she had been the one acting weird.

Weird did not even begin to cover Jacob's behaviour today.

Bella said that he hadn't been himself, and that was all she would talk about of the matter. I was hoping I'd be able to pry some information out of her once we got back to Charlie's. I was no gossip girl, but I did want to know why Jacob passed out when he saw me, and why he had a vicious look on his face when he saw me afterwards. It was like he wanted to eat me or something. It freaked me out.

When we got to Charlie's I headed for the family room, as usual, and changed into my pyjama bottoms and a worn old tank top. I took the elastic out of my hair and ran my fingers through the baby-fine locks, not bothering to comb it. Since I'd got my hair cut I rarely bothered to actually brush it. It never got tangled, anyway.

On the way up the stairs I caught a look of myself in the hall mirror and grimaced. Rainy, grey Forks was already getting the worst of me: the sunny highlights in my hair had vanished, leaving it darker than usual. My tan was fading. Soon I'd be just like all the other pallid faces in this town.

I continued up the stairs, trying not to dwell on the thoughts that that led me to. I would have to go to school tomorrow. Sure, there was only half a semester left, but I would have rather just skipped it. But, considering I now lived with a cop, doing so would be very, very stupid. What else was I going to do, anyway? Bella would be there, at least. And we had arranged it so that my schedule was exactly like hers, except where she had Government I had Local History. I figured I might as well learn more about the area I was living in.

Bella was in the bathroom when I got upstairs, so I just pushed the door open to her bedroom.

My scream was cut off by an ice cold hand, clamped down upon my mouth. Edward took me to the floor, smothering my face with his hand. "Quiet," he hissed, though his face showed no anger.

When he was satisfied that I would shut up, he removed his hand, and proceeded to back up to the far end of the room, as far from me as he could get. I stared at him, one hand on my mouth. He had gripped me very hard, and it was sore now.

"What…what are you doing here?" I gasped, trying to whisper.

"I've come to see Bella, but that won't be an option if you alert the entire neighbourhood, let alone Chief Swan." Edward gazed at me with some sort of…fascination? I hoped I wasn't flattering myself.

"How did you get in?" I demanded, thinking of psycho stalker boyfriends and other horrors.

Edward chuckled, as if he knew what I was thinking. "The window. I do this every night."

I raised an eyebrow. "You know, that's a little creepy."

He shrugged. "Bella doesn't seem to mind."

I got up and went over to the window. It was shut. I opened it and leaned out. I didn't see any easy way of getting up here. No trellis outside the window, or tree to climb up, or anything. "How the hell did you get up here?" I asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

Edward grimaced. "It's not that difficult," he said. Evading the question.

I sighed and decided I'd better let Bella deal with this one. I left the room, shutting the door behind me. I went to the bathroom and knocked.

"Bella, there's a friend in your room," I called, fully aware that Charlie was in the next room, cleaning up after a long day of work.

"Oh." Something in Bella's voice told me she knew exactly what I meant. "Okay. You go downstairs and start dinner…I'll be there in a minute."

She was lucky I cook. I found the lasagne in the freezer and put in the microwave. I leaned against the counter, my gaze absently taking in the bright yellow cabinets, the dark panelled walls. It looked…pretty bad, I admit, but at least there was some form of cheer in the yellow cabinets. This town sure needed it.

There was a tentative knock at the door. I was just as tentative about answering it. I peeked through the peep hole and gasped. I undid the many locks and threw the door open.

There, shirtless and shoeless, was Jacob. His black hair was shorter than when I'd seen him this afternoon. It was cropped badly, close to his head, but somehow he still managed to pull it off and look amazing. I had definitely not missed the expansive chest, the well developed muscles. It was then that I wondered how old this guy was.

"Hey, Emma," he greeted sheepishly, raking a hand through his short hair.

"Jacob. Hi." I was intrigued as to what he was doing here, but not unhappy to see him. I held the door open wider. "Come on in."

He did. I shut the door behind him and led him to the kitchen, where I offered him a drink. He declined, which I was grateful. I didn't like playing host in somebody else's house.

"So…what's up?" I asked him as I sat across from him at the kitchen table.

Jake shrugged. "To apologize for being such a freak-ass this afternoon."

I laughed lightly. "Hey, don't worry about it. We all have our days."

He chuckled, a soft rumble that seemed to come up from the very depths of him. After a moment he said seriously, "You have no idea how humiliated I am."

My smile faded and I struggled to make sure my expression was soft. I reached out hesitantly and placed a hand on his arm. "Don't be embarrassed. I—ouch!"

I yanked my hand away, gaping at it. There was no sign of a burn mark, but I swear he was warmer than the furnace in the crawlspace.

He grinned, sheepish again. "Sorry," he said quietly.

"You're burning up!" I cried, racing for the kitchen cloth. I ran it under cold water from the tap. "You've got to have a fever over a hundred. Do you feel okay? Are you sick? Holy crap, you're warm!" I rushed over to him. I had been ignoring his protests, and I still did. I placed the cloth on his forearm and sat back down, staring at it. I suddenly felt very silly. I could feel my cheeks turning pink and turned my face away.

"Now you're the one who shouldn't be embarrassed," Jacob teased, his tone light. "It's really nothing—my people are just naturally really warm blooded."

"I've never known anybody whose body temperature is naturally that high," I whispered, staring at the table. "I'm sorry…I reacted badly. I thought you were dying of fever or something."

"It was a normal reaction," he said thoughtfully. Then he laughed. "You should've seen Bella's reaction. Way over the top. She completely flipped her lid."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, too. Somehow I couldn't picture Bella getting over the top about anything. "She's upstairs with Edward, now."

"Edward?" Jacob jumped up, his hands balling into fists. "He's here? I thought I smelled blood-sucker." He snarled, a gruesome, harsh sound that ripped up from his gut.

My eyes widened. "Blood-sucker?"

He froze, and looked down at me. Then he took a deep breath, let it out. "Sorry. That's just what my dad calls them. The Cullens and the Quileutes…well, we're not exactly on good terms."

"No way," I gasped sarcastically. "Well, for Bella's sake, it's probably better you stay down here. Barging in on Edward is not the best idea," I added, remembering my last encounter with the creepy boy.

Jacob took another deep breath and sat back down.

The microwave buzzed loudly and I got up to get it. "Do you want something?" I asked him as I placed the warm container on the counter.

He shook his head. "No thanks. I ate before coming over. And I should go, anyway. It's rude to impose at dinnertime." He flashed a grin that made my heart skip a beat.

"No, no, you can stay if you want to," I said quickly, busying myself with the food so he wouldn't see me flush. "I'm sure Charlie and Bella won't mind."

"Edward will," Jacob growled.

I took out three plates from the cupboards and offered food again to Jacob. He declined, again. I began dishing out the lasagne. "Oh, ignore Edward, if that's what it takes. It's too bad that Bella's boyfriend and her best friend don't get along. It must be hard for her."

"You have no idea." Jacob muttered something else, too quietly for me to hear.

I placed three steaming plates of lasagne on the table, and Jacob looked at them. I smiled. "You sure you don't want any?" I teased, grinning like a fool.

He smiled that smile again and I almost gasped. "Fine," he sighed, rolling his eyes at himself. "Thank you."

I laughed and went to get another plate. Suddenly he was right behind me. I could feel the heat radiating off his bare chest, his breath on the top of my head. "That was a no," he whispered in my ear, his voice husky.

My heart was racing. I caught my breath before daring to reply. "Oh" was all I managed. Nice. I turned around so that I was facing him. I leaned back against the counter so that I wouldn't be tempted to close the little space that there was between us. I should be frightened, or at least weirded out that some guy I'd only met this afternoon—and supposedly made him faint—was standing so close to me, and without a shirt on. But I wasn't. I was…smug. Happy. I wanted him to stand this close to me. Maybe it was because the house was draughty and he was a personal furnace.

The moment passed and Jacob backed away, out of the kitchen. "I'll see you later, I guess," he called over his shoulder.

It took me a second to realize he was leaving. Then I bolted for the door and threw it open just in time to see him hop on an old-fashioned motorbike and drive away, the engine ripping.

Still stunned, I shut the door and leaned against it. Then I realized I still didn't know how old Jacob was.


	5. Music

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

I had tried to put off phasing for as long as I could, to avoid getting pummelled with the pack's thoughts about my imprinting, but after a while of my frustratingly slow human pace I finally decided I should just suck it up and face the music.

Good music, it was not.

As soon as I felt the familiar shiver pass through my whole body excited thoughts burst into my brain.

_Jacob, _Leah greeting sharply, sarcastically.

I only growled at her in my head.

_Jake! _cried Seth happily. _Quil told us that you imprinted!_

_Way to go, Jake! _Collin chimed in.

_Finally, _someone breathed. I didn't know who it was because then everyone was talking at once.

_Who is she?_

_What's her name?_

_More importantly, what does she look like? _

_When did you meet her?_

_Does she like you too?_

_Have you made a move yet?_

_Our Jake's finally a man! _

_Will you all leave the poor kid alone? _Sam barked, irritated.

_Thanks, Sam, _I grumbled.

_But we wanna know the details! _Seth whined.

_Some other time, _Sam snapped at the youngest pack member. _Just get back as soon as you can, Jake. _

_Why? _I asked, grateful to be off the subject of my imprinting. _Is something wrong?_

_No, but we need to assemble for a pack meeting, just to catch up on what's going on._

It took me a second to realize what he meant. I groaned. _You aren't seriously gonna make me talk about this imprinting crap, are you?!_

_Hell yeah! _Quil trilled triumphantly.

_Shut it, moron, _Leah spat.

_Yeah, right back at ya, bitch bag._

_Enough, _Sam growled.

_Sam, please, _I begged. _I don't want to get into it._

_As a member of this pack, you are expected to communicate with fellow members, _Sam reminded me, and I swear I heard a hint of mirth in his voice.

I groaned and tried to block the rest of their thoughts from my mind. Leah was close to me; I could see the trees flying by in her vision.

_What are you doing out here? _I asked her a little more roughly than necessary.

_What are _you _doing? _she retorted, snarky, as usual. _I have a life too, you know._

_Oh, yeah? What do you got outside the rez? _I challenged.

_None of your business._

_As a member of this pack, you are expected to communicate with fellow members, _I reminded her smugly, mocking Sam's deep bass voice.

A loud snarl ripped through my head, and I moaned. Sam had heard that.

Leah snuck in a quiet _Jerkface _before phasing.

I followed suite and yanked my shorts on before stepping out of the forest and onto the beach. Leah appeared a few yards away, but I completely ignored her, stalking straight for the house.

Sam was already there, along with Quil, Jared, Paul and Seth. I ignored them, too, and went right into the house. I dug around in the fridge and came up with a can of Coke and a wiener. I clutched the hot dog in my hand for about ten seconds, and when I opened my fist it was perfectly cooked and ready to eat. I stuck the whole thing in my mouth at once, chewed, and swallowed it down with a generous swig of Coke.

It felt good to be able to eat to my heart's content and not worry about putting on weight. I hopefully wasn't going to grow anymore—I was already six foot seven—but as a wolf my metabolism was so high I could eat five wedding cakes and not gain a pound.

When I could hear the entire pack outside, I gathered myself, making sure my temper was in check, hoping to God I wouldn't lose it out there. Sam was impatient enough with me as it was.

Seth was the first to launch himself at me; the gangly fifteen-year-old looked up to me as if I were his older brother. "So, what happened?" he demanded, his voice breaking with excitement. "Who did you imprint on? What was it like?"

"Shut it, Seth," I grumbled. I took my place on Sam's right and folded my arms across my bare chest, glaring above everyone's heads.

"Aw, c'mon, Jake! Tell us!" Seth cried. At least he wasn't whining anymore.

"I really, _really_ don't want to," I snapped.

Sam turned only at his neck to look at me. "Time to share, Jacob. Go on."

"Why are you guys so anal? What's so interesting about Jake's so-called love life?" Leah said snidely, her posture matching mine.

"So called?" I asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We all know that you're not going to do anything about it," Leah spat, her eyes narrowing. "What a waste. Why should someone like you get blessed with something so wonderful? You're just gonna throw it away."

My hands balled into fists at my sides and I bent at the knees slightly. "Take that back, Leah."

"Come on, Jake," she taunted, sinking into a half crouch as well. "We all know you're too hung up on Bella to even think about the girl who's actually your soul mate. I pity her. First, for having been imprinted on by a guy who's pining for someone else, and second because she was imprinted on by _you. _Poor, poor thing!"

I lunged for Leah, phasing through the air, before I could even stop to think about it. Nobody had time to react. I hit her full force and we landed yards away from where we'd been before. I had her pinned to the ground, my barred teeth inches from her stunned face. She was too shocked—or scared—to phase.

"Jacob!" someone roared. Sam. But I could barely hear him over the rush in my ears.

I growled my most terrible growl, and Leah looked as if she was about to piss herself. I had never seen her look so terrified—but then again, I had never been so close to killing someone (those damn newborn blood-suckers didn't count). If it had been any other member of the pack—except maybe Seth—who had looked at me with eyes that wide, mouth open in shock, I wouldn't have hesitated to rip them apart. But this was Leah. It was different. Not because she was a girl, but because…because I'd never seen her to vulnerable.

After a few moments where nobody seemed to breathe, I pushed away from her and took off into the woods. I had realized that my shorts had been ripped to shreds and wouldn't be able to phase back any time soon, but I didn't dare turn back. I knew I wouldn't be welcome at the reservation for quite some time.


	6. Questions

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Bella -

I couldn't believe it. Jacob—_my _Jacob—had imprinted…on Emma? Emma, my best friend Emma Harper. So my best friends were going to fall in love with each-other. Great. Where was that going to leave me?

Edward's face passed through my mind and I groaned, feeling guilty. Of course I would always have Edward. He was mine forever.

But I still tossed and turned all night, thinking about it. Worrying, even. Did Jake realize that Emma was only here for the summer (at least that's what I thought)? Did he know that Emma remained ignorant to the fact that my boyfriend was a vampire and my best friend was a werewolf? Did he know she has a boyfriend back in Phoenix? Did Emma realize how young he was?

That last didn't count. Emma was a year younger than me, so she was in between me and Jacob. And I wasn't sure about the boyfriend. She hadn't told me about any break-ups, but Emma wasn't exactly spilling her guts to me right now. I decided that I needed some answers. The whole story on why she was here, if she was still with Aidan, if she was interested in Jacob…. Then I realized that demanding to know the truth would be hypocritical. I was keeping a lot more things from her, like my boyfriend's species and how my best friend could, you know, transform into a wolf whenever he felt like it.

Instead of stimulating me awake, all the nonsense made me so tired I eventually passed out. At three in the morning.


	7. Friends

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

School wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it would be.

In fact, it was almost _fun, _something that it had never accomplished for me back in Phoenix.

Okay, maybe it had a little to do with the fact that all the guys—well, two guys: Eric and Tyler—seemed to be fighting over who got to sit next to me, who got to talk to me first, and all that immature stuff I'd thought they'd given up in junior high.

Bella and I mostly stuck around with Edward and Alice. I felt awkward in this situation because Bella and Edward were off in their one little lovey-dovey world and left Alice and me to follow along in silence. I had immediately thought she was the very chatty, bubbly type when I'd gone to her house Saturday night, but now she spoke not a word to me. Odd.

Bella and I finally got a minute alone, in which I laughed at how stupid the whole Tyler-and-Eric thing was.

"I'm not even _pretty,_" I whined as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. "I mean, what do they see in me? Is it just because I'm from Phoenix? Were they hoping I would bring them some sunshine?"

"Well, you brought more than I did," Bella giggled, poking the tan on my arm. "And shut up, anyway. You are _so _pretty." She peered at herself in the mirror, too, turning her face from side to side. "Ugh," she said, rubbing her cheek. "Now, _me _on the other hand…."

"Don't finish that sentence!" I cried. "You're gorgeous."

"I don't see anything gorgeous about pallid skin and bags under my eyes," she muttered grimly. Then her eyes widened and she turned away, a pink rose blossoming across her cheeks.

"What?" I asked, noticing her sheepish expression.

"Nothing." She fished a mascara wand out of her purse and began applying it half-heartedly.

"Since when do you wear mascara?" I asked.

"Since never. I really only wear it on days like these—when I look horrible."

I ignored her personal snub and grabbed my own purse, checking my timetable. "Crap," I sighed. "I've got Local History now. So I guess here's where we part."

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes playfully, tossing the mascara into her bag. "Do you want me to walk you to class?"

"I think I'll manage," I replied, grinning back.

We parted outside the bathroom, running towards our buildings to avoid getting drenched in the rain. _What a miserable little city_, I thought as I raised my binder over my head.

I crossed the parking lot, just barely looking to make sure nobody was going to slam into me, and headed for building nine. The building just came into view when suddenly my foot sank lower than I had been expecting and I toppled over. I was suddenly looking at the grey sky, rain drops splattering onto my face, and pain was everywhere, especially in the back of my head and my left ankle. I moaned and tried to sit up, but only got up to my elbows before someone was pushing me back down.

A dark shadow blocked the rain, and I squinted up at what I thought was a familiar face. When he finally came in focus, I gasped. "Jacob!"

He grinned his toothy grin, and I couldn't help but smile back. "You took a good spill there. You okay?"

I could already feel my cheeks and ears turn beet red. "I don't know. I think I went over on my ankle."

Jacob assembled my books and my binder—which were scattered all over the blacktop—and then pulled me into his arms. He was wearing a t-shirt and a light rain jacket, but I could still feel the irresistible heat radiating off of his skin.

He lifted me effortlessly and set me gently on my feet. I leaned against him for support as I tried putting weight on my left foot. Pain shot all the way up to my knee and my other leg buckled; I fell right into Jacob. He didn't budge, though, and caught me before I could go too far.

"I should get you to the school nurse," Jacob said, putting an arm around my waist. He practically carried me back across the parking lot as if I weighed as much as a feather, even though I was one fifteen.

"So…what are you doing here?" I asked, hopefully not rudely. "I mean, I thought you went to school on the reservation."

"I do," he said stiffly. "But I'm skipping the day. Actually I came to talk to Bella. Do you know what class she has now?"

"Government, but I don't know where it is. It's lunch next, so if you want to come eat with us…." I trailed off, knowing full well that he wouldn't go for eating lunch with Edward.

As I had expected, he grimaced. "I'd rather not sit with the…Cullens…" He said their name through his teeth. "But I'll sit with you, if you want me to."

Did I want him to? I looked up at him, at his big, dark eyes, and decided it would be nice to have another friend besides Bella. "Sure. That'd be great."

His whole face lit up and I found myself pleased to have made him happy. "Cool," he said enthusiastically.

Then I remembered what I had been trying to ask him every time I saw him. "How old are you, Jacob?"

"You can call me Jake," he said thoughtfully. "And I'm sixteen."

"Oh, really?" I asked, wide-eyed. "I thought you were way older than me. Older than Bella, even." He certainly didn't look sixteen, apart from his eyes and the slightly youthful curves of his face. But his body was something else.

"You're younger than Bella?" he asked, surprised as well.

I nodded. "I just turned seventeen."

"Huh."

We walked—well, he walked and I hobbled—in silence until we reached the nurse's office. Jake sat in the waiting room while the nurse took me in to check on my ankle. She told me it was twisted pretty badly and could be sprained if I wasn't careful. Then she gave me some ice and some pain medication and told me I should be fine in a few hours. She offered me a pair of crutches and I accepted, frightened by the thought of having to hop around all day.

I was grateful for the meds; the pain had really started to bother me as soon as Jacob had left my side. It was probably because he was so _warm _all the time, like my own personal radiator. It reminded me of Arizona, and that was bound to make me feel good in this cold, green hole.

As Jacob joined me in the waiting room and we stepped out once again into the rain—he had kindly offered to carry my books for me—I felt a little guilty about always putting Forks down. It wasn't like I hadn't seen all of it. I had condemned myself to come here; it wasn't like anyone was forcing me. Still, I was pretty sure that I felt just as Bella had when she had first arrived: trapped. Isolated. Alone.

But, unlike Bella, I wasn't alone. I had her. I had Jacob, now, maybe, if we really were friends.

I talked myself over my momentary pity-party and concentrated on other things, like just how close Jacob was walking next to me. I could feel his body heat again, and it almost made me want to close the small distance and huddle up next to his vast chest, letting his warmth soothe all my worries. But I realized that that might be giving him the wrong impression.

Did I want to give him that impression? Did I want him to interested in me in that way?

I looked up at him through the rain. I could tell that, once, maybe a long time ago, he had been a very happy, bright person. Now, though, his jaw was set, his eyes tired and weary—as if he was constantly waiting for someone to jump out and attack him. His smile, though it still dazzled me, was not the same as it must have been before. Everything about him was drawn, as if he was holding back all his true emotions. Or he was trying to get around them to look more grown-up. I didn't know why he would need any help looking grown-up, though.

There were some kids milling about, despite the rain—I'd guessed that most people didn't even notice it anymore. A large group of them stopped talking and stared as they passed us. The girls and a couple of the guys were looking at Jacob—one guy had eyes only for me. I ignored them and refused to meet the curious one's gaze.

As we passed them, one of the boys spoke up. "Hey—aren't you that kid that Bella Swan used to hang out with all the time?"

Jacob and I turned. It seemed that the blond boy had spoken—the one that had been looking at me. Jacob had tensed beside me; his forearms shook slightly with rage. But when I looked at his face, he didn't look angry, just irritated. And maybe a little hurt. It was then that I wondered if I really had gotten the whole story from Bella. I really hoped she hadn't hurt this poor boy that so obviously cared about her.

"Maybe," Jacob growled, turning full around to face the blond boy. "Why?"

The boy shrugged and then got defensive. "No reason, man, I was just wondering. She's in Government now, if you're looking for her," he added sourly.

The girl who was practically clinging to his arm spoke up. "Oh, you're Jacob!" she cried, her eyes shining. Her voluminous brown curls bounced as she sprang forwards to greet him. All her clinginess to the blond boy was gone as her eyes travelled up and down Jacob's body. It made me sick to watch her. "Bella's told me _all_ about you," she gushed.

I watched for the blond kid's reaction, but he hardly seemed to care. He was still glaring up at Jacob.

"Did she?" Jacob asked flatly. He didn't seem at all interested, let alone pleased to know that Bella talked about him.

"Oh, _yes_," the flamboyant girl said, batting her eyelashes. "She wouldn't shut up about you for _months_."

At this I thought I said the corners of Jacob's mouth flicker upwards, but then his stony expression was back, his face blank of emotion except for the creased between his eyebrows. "Well, that's nice," was all he said. He took me by the elbow—I jumped when I felt the heat on my bare skin—and began to tow me away.

But the blond kid wasn't finished his own conversation. "Well, she doesn't talk about you anymore," he called accusingly.

Jacob froze again. His arms began to quiver more violently, but again, his face showed no signs of anger. Just pain. Excruciating pain. And seeing him in pain set me right off.

I whirled to face them. "Yeah, because, you know, she has great friends like you right?" I demanded, my voice acidic.

The blond kid looked taken aback. His mouth popped open, then closed, then open again. Finally he settled for, "Well, I'd have thought that making sure some jerk hadn't hurt her again was being a good friend. C'mon, Jessica." He grabbed the bouncy, curly haired girl by the elbow—imitating Jacob, no doubt—and towed her away. The rest of the group followed, all looking over their shoulders at us as they went. I glared and each and every one of them until they stopped looking back.

I hadn't heard Jake turn around, but he was staring off after them, now, too. His arms had stopped shaking, but that terrible pain still marred at his face. I decided to leave him alone for now, not wanting to make it worse.

He stuffed his big hands in his pockets and shuffled along next to me. The distance between us was much greater than it had been before. He didn't utter a sound, and the silence was making my heart ache. "Jake…" I began gently. "Who were they?"

"Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley," he hissed, not meeting my gaze nor relaxing his almost hostile posture.

"Bella's friends?"

He snorted. "They seem to think they are."

"And what did Mike mean…about Bella being hurt again?" I asked quietly.

He finally moved, turning his head away from me. A shudder passed through his whole frame, and for a split second I thought he was crying. But he suddenly whipped around to face me, and his eyes were hard and dry.

"Edward left her," he told me, his voice venomous. "A year ago, he and the rest of the Cullens just left. It smashed Bella to pieces. Luckily I was there to pick them up," he added in a low growl that I could barely hear.

"Oh," I said lamely. "I didn't know about that."

He didn't say anything. To my dismay we had already arrived under the port of building nine, and my class was waiting for me inside. We stood, facing but looking at each-other. It was a little awkward, so I said a quick good-bye, thanked him for helping me to the nurse, and went inside.

I was about a half an hour late for class, and several bored pairs of eyes swivelled to look at me as I loped into the room. I hurried over to the teacher's desk and introduced myself—quietly, to avoid making a scene; he signed my forms and gave me a text book and told me to take a seat. He seemed to be just as bored as his students.

They were all quietly taking notes from the information displayed on a blank space of wall. An overhead projector whirred lightly in the background.

I took out some sheets of paper and a pen and frantically began to jot down the notes, not really paying attention to what I was writing until the word _Quileute _caught my attention.

I realized I had been copying information about Washington's most ancient Native tribe. Jacob's tribe.

I paused and actually read my scribbled writing. I had written this:

_Among Native American tribes, the Red Indian, Apalachee Indian and Quileute tribes are well known. The Quileute, also known as Quillayute was a tribe thriving in East America, whose population has now been reduced to a meager 750. The Quileutes are believed to have dwelled along the Quillayute River near Washington on the Pacific coast of North America. Books written on American tribal history describe the Quileutes as spiritual people who believed in the existence of supernatural forces._

_The Quileute, according to several historians, was believed to be a tribe of highly possessive people. While other tribes functioned as communities sharing land and resources, the Quileutes laid restriction not only on ownership of land or food but also on music and dance which meant that a family could claim ownership of a particular dance, song or lore. Such characteristics of the tribe are revealed as indirect implications in Quileute legends or Quileute folklore which essentially consists of tales involving the Quileutes. These stories are mostly based on supernatural theories like the existence of werewolves, thunderbirds and are well known all over the world, albeit in modified versions. ***_

I blinked, stunned. I was friends with one of these people. I had always been fascinated with Native American people and the way they lived—I had taken First Nations Studies back in Phoenix. I was disappointed they didn't offer that class here, but then again, now I had someone that surely knew everything I wanted to know. I especially wanted to know about the whole werewolf thing. I hoped that would cheer Jacob up, get a few laughs out of him. I wanted to see him smile again.

Class ended sooner than I had been expecting. I packed up my things, thanked the teacher, and left the building. It had finally stopped raining, I noted happily.

Feeling my spirits lift as I walked through the misty aftermath of the rain, breathing in the sweet, wet scent, I headed off to the cafeteria, eager to find out more about the Quileutes.

*** Passage taken from quileutelegend. com


	8. Answers

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

A certain feeling of despair had claimed me all afternoon; basically since that damned Mike Newton had confronted me. But all of that disappeared as soon as I spotted Emma coming through the double doors to the cafeteria. It was as if I had fallen from a thirty story building, broken beyond repair, and she was my morphine, my pain reliever, my lifeline. I felt crazy for being this head-over-heels for a girl—I had it worse than when I'd liked Bella. But this was imprinting…different.

Bella was off sitting with Edward and Alice Cullen; I sensed her look up every now and then to look at me, but I ignored her. She wasn't my friend when she was with _them._

Emma flounced over and sat across the table from me, her eyes sparkling, her face lit up with a beautiful smile. I had to smile back and absently reached across the table to take her hands in my own. A flicker of discomfort crossed her face, but it was gone in the next second; she kept her hands in mine.

"I'm glad you stayed," she said. I really liked the way the skin around her eyes scrunches up when she smiled. It was cute.

"Did you think I wasn't going to?" I asked, bewildered.

"Well, I didn't know. But I hoped you would stay." She smiled again, and a dimple flashed on one cheek. I chuckled. "What?" she asked, confused.

"You've only got one dimple," I told her, still laughing.

She blushed and pulled one hand out of mine to touch her cheek. "I know. It's weird, isn't it?"

"No," I said quickly, taking her hand back, "it's adorable."

She was all smiles again, the dimple even more noticeable now. "Thanks."

I looked at her. Her tan was already fading; her cheeks were naturally tinted pink. Her hair, out of the sun, had darkened to a sandy blonde colour. But her eyes still shone as bright as they had when she'd first arrived and I'd seen her for the first time. Before I'd, you know, passed out.

She seemed to be studying me, too, and I marvelled in that fact. How could a girl so wonderful, so completely _perfect, _be able to look at me like that? I mean, she was looking at me almost the same way Bella looked at her bloodsucker. With wonder and awe. With…was it love? How could that be? We had only known each-other since…well, yesterday.

"What did you do while I was in class?" Emma was asking, her eyes locked on mine.

I shrugged. "I just sat here."

"Here?" she asked, wide-eyed. "Did you bring a book or something?"

"Nope," I said, leaning towards her across the table. "I don't read."

Her eyes widened even further. "Ever?"

"Never ever."

Her mouth fell open, her plush, cherry red lips forming a perfect O. "I can't imagine living without my books," she said quietly, as if she was truly horrified by the thought.

Oh. I guess we weren't on the same page for everything. "I thought you were into sports and stuff," I said lamely.

She shrugged. "Yeah, I play volleyball in the summer and soccer in the spring…and I ski race and figure skate in the winter." She winked. "But when I'm not doing sports or homework, I'm reading. I read whenever I can. I'll read anything. Fantasy, sci-fi, romance, history, even non-fiction if I'm up to it—"

I gripped her hands so tightly in mine that she stopped talking and looked pointedly at me.

"I've got to show you something," I said in what I hoped to be a low, maybe even seductive voice. "Do you mind skipping the last block?"

"It's gym…," she said, gazing off through the windows at the large building that was the gym.

I sighed. "Okay. I'll meet you after school and take you."

"Where?" she asked, her eyes glowing with the on coming adventure.

"You'll see," I murmured, smiling playfully at her.

She gasped and flirtatiously slapped my arm. I pretended that it hurt to make her happy. We couldn't stop smiling at each-other.

"Jake?" Bella asked, coming up behind my shoulder. I turned, happy to see her bloodsuckers hadn't followed her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Emma looked at me pointedly. I smiled at her (she smiled back) and rose from the table. Bella led me outside, under the overhang of the cafeteria building so we wouldn't get wet.

"So what's the deal?" she asked, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

I played dumb and refused to flush. "What do you mean?"

"Did you imprint, or what?"

I was startled. It had probably been obvious to someone who knew better what was going on when I first laid eyes on Emma. But I didn't think Bella would confront me about it.

"I think so," I lied. I was positive that I had imprinted.

I expected Bella to smile, but she didn't. She remained serious, except for the humorous glint in her eyes. "And, what are you, skipping school today?"

"Yeah," I said, "I actually needed to talk to you."

"Then why did you wait for me to come over?"

I was taken aback, but quickly recovered. "I'm sorry, but you were with _him,_" I spat. "And I was talking to Emma."

"Well, what did you need to say to me?" Bella asked, all humour gone. She cross her arms and slouched to the side.

"What's your problem?" I demanded. "Why are you so pissed off?"

"I'm not!" she cried, but her body language said otherwise.

"I was gonna ask how you felt about my imprinting on Emma, but I won't bother now. I don't care what you think."

"Jacob," she said, her voice more gentle now. "She doesn't live here. She's going back to Arizona soon, once summer's over I think, and there's no telling when she's coming back. She's oblivious to the whole fantasy creature thing going on here, and she won't understand imprinting unless we tell her, which I am forbidden to do. And she's a year older than you!"

"Oh, _piss off_, Bella!" I snapped, throwing my hands into the air. "You know age doesn't matter to me!"

"It might matter to her," she pouted.

"She knows how old I am," I replied through my teeth. "And I'll work around the distance. I'll move to freaking Arizona if I have to." Here Bella winced, but I ignored her. "And she needs to know, at least about what I am. I mean, Emily and Kim and Claire are humans, and they know about werewolves! And about your bloodsuckers, they have nothing to do with this. Why should we give a damn what they are?"

Bella's lips pursed so tight I thought she would be unable to respond. Then, "You…you're…I…Jake—"

"Butt out, Bells. This isn't your business, okay? Just leave me alone." I started back into the cafeteria, but she stopped me with her voice, surprisingly sorrowful.

"Would you really move to Arizona for her?" she asked, pleading. Her eyes were pooling with tears.

I whirled to face her. "Since when do you care what I do? You don't need me anymore. You've got _him_." I let out a vicious snarl for emphasis on how much I despised Edward.

Bella shrank back a little at my hostility, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, Jake—don't go." Her voice broke over my name.

"You need to get a life, Bella," I spat, turning away again. "And I don't want to be in it." With that I shoved the cafeteria door open and stepped inside, but not before I heard her sobbing.


	9. Motorbike

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

The day dragged on until I was positive the clocks had stopped functioning. As I darted across the gym, whacking the birdie on occasion with my badminton racket, I found myself wishing that I had taken Jake's offer to skip class. After all, it wasn't like I would get in trouble for skipping; even if the administration did call Charlie's house he couldn't—and wouldn't—discipline me.

Just as we were in the final stretch of the period, I spotted a familiar blond kid storming across the gym towards me. I recognized him as Mike Newton, the guy that had pissed Jacob off and who I'd screamed at. He was heading right for me now. I pretended I hadn't seen him and began really showing off with my racket; I was very glad I had chosen my tight white tank top for my gym strip.

"Where's Bella?" he demanded, his ears bright pink, as if he was trying to look mad but didn't really feel it.

I blinked at him, an innocent look on my face. "Do I know you?"

"No, thankfully," he spat. "But you know Bella. She's not here, so where is she?"

I waved him away. "Off with Edward, I guess."

"It's not like her to skip," he muttered.

I whacking the birdie with my racket and it soared above and beyond the net. My partner groaned and turned to fetch it. I looked at Mike, now allowing myself to look pissed. "What are you accusing me of?"

"Well, it's just weird that Bella would disappear right after I confronted that Native guy about her," he said, the hostility roaming away.

I snorted. "What, you think that Jacob kidnapped her or something? Get real." I hit the birdie again without looking away from Mike.

"I'm just concerned about my friend," he said dumbly.

"Yeah? Well a good friend knows when to piss off," I snapped. Then I turned and stalked off to change early.

--

All the anger that I felt towards stupid Mike Newton vanished as I stepped out into the rain and spotted Jake across the parking lot. I pulled on my toque and sprinted towards him, beaming already. I kept my eyes on his face. When he saw me he smiled just as broadly as I was, and my heart accelerated, hammering around my rib cage.

Suddenly Jake's smile vanished and his face took on a horrified, panicked look. His mouth dropped open, and then I heard my name. "EMMA!"

Only then did I hear the tires squealing, the sound of burning rubber stinging my nose. I skidded to a stop.

And then it hit me.

I was pushed through the air with breathtaking power. For a few seconds, I was completely airborne. And then I landed with a bone shattering crash. There was a large weight on top of me; it nearly crushed me as I rolled, gasping when the weight was over me and begging for breath when I was over it. We—the weight and myself—rolled for what seemed like an eternity before we crashed into something else—the chain link fence? The weight was on top of me, and I gasped, pushing it away from me. My efforts were in vain. It was like trying to move a boulder.

The first thought that crossed my mind was car; I had been hit by a car and now it was on top of me, crushing me. But when I touched it, I didn't feel the cool metal like I expected. It was warm, smooth, and it smelled nice, like wet pine trees. I liked it, and stopped fighting it, despite the fact that it was crushing.

Someone said my name and it was surprisingly close to my ear.

I jumped at the sound, and suddenly the weight was gone; well, it was still there, but it wasn't crushing me.

"Open your eyes, Emma," said a deep, husky voice. "Look at me, Emma. Please."

I searched for my eyes, and when I found them I forced them open.

Jacob was hovering over me; he had come to my rescue again. But this time he wasn't just crouched beside me, he was actually _on top_ of me. He had pushed himself halfway off, but our lower abdomens were touching and our legs were interwined.

My first instinct was to shove him away, scream at him for being such a pervert. I mean, really, just because I'd been blasted away a few feet by a moving car hardly meant he had to lie on top of me. But then my stupid heart started pounding just about the fact that he was touching me and I stayed where I was. "Jacob?" I gasped.

"Did you not see that truck?" he demanded, not angrily, but worriedly. "It almost hit you!"

"Almost?" I asked, frowning a little. "What do you mean, almost?"

He looked at me pointedly as the pieces snapped together in my brain. When it finally clicked, I gasped. "You saved me."

He grinned, flashing his straight, white teeth.

A smile broke out on my face. "You pushed me out of the way. I thought that was the truck hitting me!"

He grimaced. "Am I really that heavy?"

I laughed once and sat up. "Thank you," I breathed, smiling.

He smiled back. "You're welcome." His grin quickly turned to a look of concern. "Are you okay?"

"I feel fine," I said truthfully. "Nothing twisted this time." I snuck a look at my ankle. It felt fine now, but only because the pain killers were kicking in. I then wondered just what kind of pills I had been given. I had gone the whole gym class without so much as a pang in my ankle. Even now, when I'd been bowled over by a however-heavy, six-foot-something guy it wasn't hurting. "Actually…my ankle has given me surprisingly little trouble."

I took Jacob's outstretched hand and he pulled me to my feet as if I weighed nothing. Having noticed his superior strength before, I questioned him. "Do you lift weights, or something?"

He chuckled, but I saw his ears turning pink under the russet skin. "No."

I tried to keep my facial expression under control. "Come on, Jake. I didn't think you were the kind of guy to lie about something like that."

"Huh?" he looked at me, and his expression was clearly confused.

"How can a sixteen-year-old be so strong without working out?" I asked him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh…" He seemed to be searching for an answer. "It's just a thing about us Quileutes…we're…naturally strong."

"Uh-huh." Another question I would have to ask Bella, I supposed. Speaking of Bella… "What did you and Bella talk about today?"

Jake held up his hands, palms towards me. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't distract me. We need to get you out of here."

"What? Why?"

"Bloodsuckers," he muttered, so low I could barely hear him. Then he brightened and looked my in the eye. "I gotta take you to that place. The place I wanted to show you, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" I cried, smiling again. "Let's go."

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"One hundred percent."

"Great."

I looked around me for the first time. I supposed that when Jacob had flown at me to push me out of the way of the moving truck, we had rolled down the grassy bank on the side of the parking lot and hit the chain link fence at the bottom. We hiked up the hill now, and a small crowd of kids were clustered around a large beige truck. The driver wasn't in the cab, so it was impossible to tell which of the kids surrounding it was the one who had nearly hit me. I had my suspicions about Mike Newton, who was standing with Jessica and looking around frantically.

"Let's not get involved in that," I said to Jake out of the corner of my mouth.

He chuckled in agreement and took my hand, leading me away from all the drama.

I expected his ride to be an old, classy one, just because a rusty vehicle seemed so _Jacob. _But I was surprised when he pulled me over to a glossy black motorbike, matching helmets dangling off the handlebars. I whistled.

"Like?" Jake asked, his eyebrows rising.

"What a babe!" I cried, smiling at him before going to run my fingers along the front of the bike. "This is fantastic!"

"Fixed it myself," he said, grinning proudly. "Bella found two motorcycles in the trash and asked me to fix them."

"Where's the other one?" I asked.

"I think Charlie had it made into scrap metal." Jake laughed a deep rumble from inside his chest.

I laughed too. "Charlie must have been so mad."

"Oh, yeah," Jake said, "he was _pissed_."

"I didn't think Bella was the type to buy motorcycles," I said thoughtfully as Jake handed me the smaller of the helmets. I ran my palm over the gloss as I spoke.

"You know, neither did I," Jake replied, putting his own helmet on. "But Bella's always full of surprises," he added somewhat bitterly.

He got on the motorcycle and I climbed on behind him, placing my suddenly sweaty palms on his broad shoulders. Jake kicked it into gear and we were off.

I hadn't been on a motorcycle since the night my boyfriend, Terry, and I had broken up. He'd driven me up on to big plateau near Phoenix, dumped me, and then driven away. I had to walk all the way back home. It took me a grand total of five hours. Since then I hadn't bothered to date anyone. And that was a year and a half ago.

Here in Forks, though, riding on a motorbike wasn't as fun. The air was so cold it felt like little icicles were constantly stabbing me. Tears were streaming from my eyes as the freezing wind stung them.

After a few minutes of just joyriding, I worked up the courage to peel my hands from Jake's shoulders and wrap my arms around his waist. I hugged him from behind, resting my cheek on his shoulder blade. I waited for his reaction, and finally I felt his rough hand close over mine. He took it back after a few moments, probably so he could drive, but my heart was already singing with joy.

Maybe I'd reconsider my no-dating policy…


	10. Cars

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

By the time we got back to my house it was raining buckets. I parked the motorbike in my makeshift garage, ready to take off right after doing so, but Emma surprised me again by gasping when she saw my Rabbit.

"Is that a VW Rabbit?" she asked, her eyes wide.

I looked at her, stunned. "Yeah," I said lamely.

She ran her thin fingers over the good carefully, so she wouldn't get any paint slivers. "'86?" she asked, looking up at me, sitting on my stool. When I nodded, she whistled and stood back to admire my car even further.

I couldn't believe my luck. I had imprinted on a girl who was beautiful, sensitive, sporty and into cars. Maybe the whole "one-and-only", soul mate wasn't crap after all. Watching Emma, her lithe, slightly feline body lope around my car, I hoped to God and back that all that stuff was true and I could love her forever and ever.

"You into cars?" I asked. I still sounded lame.

Emma didn't seem to think so, because she looked at me and smiled sheepishly. "Not really. I mean, I can appreciate a good car, but I'm no expert." She paused to observe the Rabbit once more, and then met my gaze again. "But it sure seems like you are."

I laughed. "I try. But I tell you, building cars is in a totally different league than knowing them. I mean, when I started building this baby I felt like such a loser because of all the stuff I didn't know."

"You built this?" Emma gasped, pointing to the car.

"Pretty much," I replied, shrugging up and out of the stool and going to stand by her. "It was a piece of crap, but all it needed was some new parts, a paint job and some love. Well, the paint job's to come," I added, sheepishly picking at the chipping, tan paint.

"Sounds like her and I have a lot in common," Emma said under her breath. Her smile was tentative.

I laughed nervously. "Well, maybe I could fix you," I offered, thinking, of course, about the third thing that my car needed.

Emma tactfully avoided what could have led to an awkward moment by saying, "You can get me some new parts?"

"Sure, sure," I laughed, leaning against the car. "Whatdya need?"

"Well, a new heart would be nice," Emma murmured. Then she grimaced. "Or a new _face_." She wrinkled her nose.

"Your face is perfect the way it is," I said gently, reaching out to brush her cheek with my fingertips. "No new parts required."

Emma blushed a sweet deep pink and lowered her eyes. Her eyelashes grazed the very top of her cheekbones. "Thanks," she whispered.

So her hopes of keeping the conversation light had failed, thanks to me. But I really didn't think she minded too much. I know I didn't. "Anything else you need?" I asked, cupping her heart-shaped face in my big hand.

She thought for a minute, and then ran her hands through her hair. "A 'paint job' would be cool," she said, and I heard the quotations.

"Oh, yeah?" I said conversationally, dropping my hand from her face. "What colour?"

"Orange," she said. "Or yellow. They're my favourite. Plus, we've gotta bring a little sunshine to this town."

"Good idea," I agreed, grinning like a fool. "We'll pick up some hair colour and some paint on the way back."

"Back from where?" she asked.

"The place I want you to see." I opened to passenger door of the Rabbit and climbed inside. "You're driving."

"Seriously?!" she cried. When I nodded she sprinted around the car and got in the driver's side. We shut our doors at the same time. I tossed her the key and she twisted it in the ignition. "It's sweet of you to let me drive your baby," she said, and by sweet I knew she meant cool rather than whatever grandmas mean when they call you that.

"That…and I'm not allowed to drive with people that are under twenty five in the car," I admitted.

"Ah," she said as the car roared to life. "Right. Kiddy license."

"Shut up," I growled playfully, folding my arms across my chest.

We teased each-other all the way back into town. I gave her directions and we eventually made it to the library.

She was laughing when we got out of the car. "I didn't know Forks even _had_ a library," she said sceptically.

"The selection pretty much sucks, but I thought you'd like it anyway," I told her. "If you've read everything here already maybe we could take a day trip to Port Angeles and get some books there."

We had entered the library and lowered out voices to almost a whisper. "Sounds like a date," said Emma.

A big smile broke out over my entire face. "We could make it one," I offered, winking at her.

Her smile widened. "Sounds good to me. Saturday?"

"Sure, sure."

As we wandered through the shelves of books Emma took my hand. It was cool and soft and seemed to fit mine to perfection. I couldn't easily ignore the leaping feeling in my stomach or the frantic pulse of my heart whenever we touched.

By the end of our library expedition Emma decided she wouldn't bother to get a library card. She didn't sign anything out, either, as I had expected, and I was glad. It would mean more time spent in Port Angeles together.

We stopped at the drugstore to pick up some hair colour (Emma got two tubes of both orange and yellow streak formula) and then went to the hardware place to pick up some car paint. While I was browsing through the shades, I gave Emma enough money to buy us both a coffee and she headed off to the Starbucks next door. I did this so that she wouldn't see the colours that I picked out yet. I bought the paint and an air brusher and went to meet her in the coffee shop.

On the way home we sipped at our lattés and talked about cars and sports and other things I'd never been able to talk to girls about before.

Back at the house, we snuck past Billy and crammed ourselves into the tiny bathroom, locking the door behind us. The room was so small and I took up so much room and Emma was squeezed up against me most of the time, which I didn't mind so much.

Emma expertly applied the hair colour—she used all four tubes—so that the streaks would cover her whole head. When it had set she bent over the sink and I washed it out for her. I think I enjoyed running my fingers through her wet, chemical coated hair a little too much.

Emma wrapped her damp hair up in one of my old bandanas and put her toque on over top of it so that Charlie and Bella wouldn't see it till it dried.

We hadn't realized how late it was getting till my stomach growled. A quick look at the clock told me that it was eight thirty, I offered Emma some leftover pizza, but she refused, claiming that Bella probably had dinner ready at home.

I drove her home—well, technically she drove herself, with me in the passenger seat so that I could take it back to my place—all the while dreading to part from her.

"Thanks," she said as we stood in the beams of light from the headlights when we got back to Bella's house. "Today was…amazing."

"It was fun, wasn't it?" I asked grinning down at her.

She nodded.

"You should come over after school," I said. "If you wanna help paint the Rabbit."

Her face lit up. "I'd love to!"

"Great. I'll pick you up after school."

"You're not gonna skip again tomorrow, are you?" she asked, pretending to scold me.

"No," I sighed. "I gotta go tomorrow. It was a nice day off today, though."

"Okay, well thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow."

Emma turned away, but then changed her mind. She turned back and wrapped her arms around my waist, tucking her face into my chest. Just as she did so, as if on cue, fluffy white clumps began drifting down from the sky. They settled in her wool knit toque and in my hair and dusted out shoulders. I put my arms around her, too, and held her tight. I didn't want to let her go.

He pulled away enough to look at each-other, but kept our arms around each-other. Emma turned her eyes to the sky and smiled. "Snow?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "In March?"

"I guess," I replied, hugging her to me again. "Man, Forks just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"Since my arrival, of course," Emma teased herself.

We both laughed, and then she pulled away too soon. She smiled at me once more and turned to head into the house. I held her hand until my arm could stretch no further, and then watched her go. She paused outside the door to wave, and then she disappeared inside.

I got in the Rabbit and drove away. I rolled down the windows and let the cold air blast through the whole vehicle. As soon as I was out of the neighbourhood I blasted music from the crappy stereo and hollered to my heart's content, pushing the Rabbit to way over the speed limit.

I was one hundred and twenty percent sure that I was in love with this girl.


	11. Fight

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Bella -

I sprang up from the kitchen table as soon as I heard the front door open. I rushed into the front hall, ready to give Emma a piece of my mind for disappearing all afternoon. But I skidded to a halt when I saw her.

Her hat and shoulders were dusted with clumps of white fluff. A read bandana was poking out from underneath the toque. Her coat was buttoned wrong.

But it wasn't these strange things that stunned me.

Emma was _glowing. _

Okay, not literally, but it sure seemed like—if that were possible—she would be. Her whole face was lit up like a thousand-watt light bulb, or maybe fireworks. Her eyes were shimmering—and _that _is literal—with excitement, joy, elation…she seemed ecstatic. Happier than I had seen her in a long time, if ever.

"Emma," I breathed, ignoring her glow-y-ness and remembering my worries. "Where _were_ you?"

She looked at me as she pulled off her converse runners. "I'm sorry, Bells. I was gonna call you, but I…got a little distracted and forgot."

"I waited for you at school," I said, not angrily. I wasn't angry. Well, I had been, but I couldn't ruin this amazing mood she was in. "I had no idea where you were. You scared me."

"I'm sorry," she repeated. She didn't sound sorry at all. "But Bella, I had the best day ever!"

"And you're gonna tell me all about it Miss Sunshine," I teased, smiling now. "You're gonna explain _everything. _But you need to eat first. Your plate's in the microwave."

"Thanks, Bells."

While Emma was eating I got ready for bed. I thought about Emma. I still didn't know where had been, or why she had ditched me after school, but I had a sneaking suspicion who was behind it all.

Emma joined me in my room later, and instantly burst into a constant flow of easy chatter.

"Well, Jake picked me up after school—"

"So you _were_ with Jacob," I cried, pointing at her, a big grin on my face.

"Yeah. So he picked me up, on a _motorcycle_, can you believe it, Bella? A motorcycle! He drove me to his house and he's got his own car, a VW Rabbit 1986. Anyway, so we went to the store to get hair dye and paint because we're gonna paint the Rabbit tomorrow—"

"Hair dye?" I interrupted, startled.

Emma paused, and then sheepishly reached up to pull her toque off. She unwrapped the bandana and let her damp hair tumble down to her shoulders in straggles.

I gasped. "Oh, my God, Emma, what did you _do_ to yourself?"

"I coloured my hair," she replied, scrunching up her nose and smiling in a cute, remembering-a-good-moment way.

I grimaced. "Obviously. But _why_?"

"Because," she said, shrugging.

Her hair was completely covered; orange and yellow streaks swirled and criss-crossed and collided and striped all over her head. It didn't look too bad—it matched Emma's sunny mood.

"So anyway, after we coloured my hair, he let me drive the Rabbit back here, and he invited me over tomorrow to help paint it. I dunno what colour, but it's going to be _so_ much fun. Oh, and I'm pretty sure he asked me out. I dunno, but he asked to take me to Port Angeles this Saturday."

"So…I'm guessing you like him," I said lightly, stating the obvious. I didn't feel as happy for them as I knew I should have, and it bothered me.

Emma must have caught the tone in my voice and her face fell slightly. "You don't mind, do you?"

I shrugged, unable to lie or tell the truth.

"Aw, Bells," she groaned, the smile completely disappearing off of her face. She fell back against the pillows of my bed. "I'm sorry. I know he's your best friend and all, but…well, you've got Edward, and I know he was hurting about you, and I thought I could help, and…well, he really seems to like me, too."

"I know he does," I said, attempting a smile. "He's got it bad."

That set Emma off smiling again. "Well I hope this won't make things weird for us. It shouldn't, right? I mean you guys are best friends. Oh, but he's _so_ amazing, Bella, you don't even know."

"Yes, actually," I snapped, frowning at the homework in my lap. "I know exactly how amazing he is, Emma. He's _my best friend_."

Emma looked as if I'd slapped her, and I instantly felt bad. "Oh," she said quietly. We sat in an awkward silence for a minute, and then Emma said feebly, "Do you wanna come help paint the car tomorrow, too?"

"Thanks, but I'll be with Edward."

"You could bring him; we'll make it a party!" she crowed, a trace of the previous smile returning.

I laughed once without humour and then grimaced. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Jacob and Edward aren't really on good terms, remember?"

"Aw, Bells, you gotta have some fun sometime! If it's really that bad, just come by yourself."

"But I'm hanging out with Edward."

"You know, Bella, not everything has to revolve around Edward. You spend so much time with him; I'm not even sure if it's healthy anymore. And he just looks at you like…I dunno, like he wants to eat you." Emma dropped her gaze and began to pick at the comforter.

I suppressed a dry chuckle at the irony of that sentence, and also ignored the fact that she was starting to sound like Mike Newton. "Thanks for the advice, but I'm fine the way things are."

"Fine, be that way. Don't come tomorrow."

"Why are you being like that?"

"Well, you get pissed that I'm hanging out with Jacob, and when I invite you along you rebuke me again! What do you want me to do, Bella, _not_ make friends while I'm here? I'm here until September, Bells! That's five months! We can't do everything together!"

"Well, we have to do _something_!" I cried. "We haven't done one thing together since you've been here."

She scoffed. "Well, that's because, A) You spend all your free time with Edward and B) I've only been her two days! We'll have plenty of time to hang out, Bella, but Jake's my friend too, and if you don't want to leave Edward's side and have some fun once and a while, then that's your choice. But you can't control what I do. You _can_ control yourself, though—unless you've given your freedom to Edward, too." With that she jumped up from the bed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I sat, too stunned to speak. After a moment in which I digested everything she had just yelled at me the tears began to flow. And then his arms were around me, holding me to his icy, hard chest, my tears staining the front of his shirt.

"She's right, you know," he murmured softly after a moment. "If you want to spend time with Jacob, I won't stop you anymore. This rivalry has gotten beyond ridiculous."

I couldn't speak; if I did the lump in my throat would burst and I would be racked through and through with sobs. Instead I just held Edward tighter.

"Are you alright, love?" he asked, pulling away slightly and lifting my chin up with his cool, pale index finger.

I nodded, trying to swallow the painful remaining tears.

Edward tucked me into bed and then put his arms around me, lying outside the quilt so that I wouldn't get a chill. I shivered anyway, my body surrendering to dry sobs.

I didn't know why I felt so resentful about all this. I should be _happy_ that Jake had imprinted, that he could finally find someone else to love and stop hurting over me. I should be _happy _that Emma was finding some solid ground here, that she loved someone that I was close to so that it would bring us closer together.

But I couldn't find myself to feel happy. I bugged me mostly because I had no idea why.


	12. Paint

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

Jacob's garage was covered in plastic tarps. He had removed everything except the car and the paint and some brushes. The Rabbit sat in the center of the space, the windows, mirrors, licence plate, headlights, taillights, wiring harness and tires all covered so we wouldn't get paint on them. Excitement bubbled up inside of me just by looking at it. My fingers itched to get started. I had always loved painting things, making them beautiful with a bit of colour.

Jacob strolled past me and bent over the paint cans. He opened them with his bare hands, and then reached for the airbrush.

I went over to him, conscious to stand closer to him than was necessary. I was practically leaning on his back now. I peered over his shoulder and gasped.

There were two paint cans: one contained bright yellow paint, the other vibrant orange. "I can't believe it!" I cried, a delighted smile illuminating my face. "You chose my favourite colours? That's awesome!"

Jake turned to face me, and his expression was surprised to see me so close to him. But then his face broke into a wide smile—my favourite smile, I realized—and he laughed. "You like it?"

"I love it!" Then I paused. "You like them too, right? I mean, it's pointless to paint your own car with colours you don't even like."

"I like whatever you like," he said quietly, though still smiling. He turned back to the paint before he thought I could see him flushing.

My heart fluttered and swelled with love for this boy.

"Besides," he said in his usual booming voice, "you're gonna be driving her most of the time."

"I am?"

"Well, yeah," he said, turning and straightening to his full height. I looked up at him, shocked. I could have sworn that the last time I had seen him I had been up to his jaw. Now I barely cleared his shoulder. "We're gonna be hanging out a lot, and I'm not legally able to drive you around yet."

"We are?" I asked hopefully, beaming up at him.

"If you want to," he said, shrugging, but I could see that he really wanted to as well.

"The hell I do!" I said, matching his smile.

"Cool." He turned back to the paint and began loading the airbrush with some yellow paint. He faced me again and handed the airbrush to me. "How good are you with one of these?"

"I couldn't tell you, I've never used one," I replied as I took the tool and examined it. It seemed like a simple enough contraption. It had a handle that I must have to squeeze, and a container underneath that contained the paint. But I wasn't about to leap to action without Jacob's instruction. The worst thing would be that I ruined the paint job before we'd even really started.

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Jake grabbed another strange looking tool and strolled over to the car. "I just need to sand this baby down first and get all the old paint off.

As he worked I pulled myself up onto the counter and watched him, carefully clutching the spray gun in my hands, dangling my legs. He had lent me one of his old t-shirts (he said he didn't care if I got paint on it) and a pair of black sweats (same thing). Despite the chilly weather, he was wearing only an old sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts that were already splattered with paint. No shoes. I wondered how he could stand it. I mean, he was bulky in the muscle department, but he was human. He must feel the cold, like me, even though it may take him a bit longer.

He didn't even shiver as he chiselled at the car's chipping paint, though, so I suppressed the urge to go fetch him a jacket or something. Instead I concentrated at how much of an expert he looked, here in his element. Bella had told me he had a thing for cars, but there's a difference between liking something and actually being good at it. And I was quite sure he had both here.

When he was through he beckoned me over and I joined him in a heartbeat.

"Now," he said, taking the spray gun from me. "This is how this puppy works. You aim the spout where you want it—" He aimed the gun at the hood of the Rabbit. "—and squeeze the handle." I watched his fingers close around the handle and suddenly bright yellow paint flew out with a faint hissing noise. He manoeuvred the stream of paint over the hood; doing only a small square of it so he wouldn't do the whole job for me. I watched, amazed. "It's easy enough," he said as he let go of the handle and handed the spray gun to me.

I did exactly what I had seen him do: I aimed the spout at the hood and squeezed the handle. I cried out with excitement when the paint hit the metal and covered it with bright yellow.

So that was how it went. Jacob guided me the whole time, helping me get around the small, hard-to-get-to parts of the car, but other than that he let me do the whole thing. At the end of half an hour the entire car—including the hubcaps—was bright sun yellow.

While he was emptying the remaining yellow paint from the gun, he said, "By the way, I really like your hair. It looks great!"

"Thanks," I said, automatically reaching up to touch my sun kissed hair. "I've got my stylist to thank," I added, winking at him.

He snorted a laugh. "Hardly." He grabbed two large paintbrushes and handed me one. "Time to actually paint the sun." He picked up the can of orange paint and poured it into a roller tray.

"What are we painting orange?" I asked, twirling the paint brush in my hands.

"Anything you want," he replied, standing up and strolling over to the car. He brushed his fingers over the hood. "The paint here is already dry. I was thinking of painting a big sun right on the hood, and then maybe having the rays streaking along the sides. Maybe we can even paint mini-suns on the hubcaps."

"Wow," I said, whistling. "You really took my sunshine idea to heart, didn't you?"

"Well, as soon as you said it, I realized how brilliant it was." He smiled and casually slung his arm around my shoulders. "I just wish it had been my idea first."

I tried to remember how to laugh. His arm was burning hot, just like it had been in Charlie's kitchen the other day, but now it was comforting rather than shocking. I found myself leaning into his massive body, resting my cheek on the crook between his shoulder and his chest.

"Tired?" he asked, his tone playful.

"No," I answered wistfully. "You're just really warm."

He laughed and pulled me completely into his arms, letting the heat envelop me like a sauna. I then realized just why he didn't need a jacket out here. I squished myself as close to him as I could, pressing my cheek into his chest. I snaked my way around his torso and held him, too, so that it was more of a big hug than an embrace. I think an embrace was much to intimate for this stage in our relationship.

Jake got the idea and pulled away. Then, quick as a flash, he bent down, straightened and touched me on the nose. I blinked, stunned. And then I caught my reflection in the Rabbit's rear-view mirror. I pouted playfully at the spot of orange paint on my nose.

Jacob laughed again and bent to get his own brush. We dipped the brushes into the paint and got started on the hood. I painted the basic shape: a circle with squiggly lines flying out of it. As we painted the smaller details, some of the excess yellow paint from the first coat came up, creating a neat orange-yellow swirl effect. As we were painting, I realized just how beautiful it looked.

Having finished the main sun, we each took a side and painted the protruding sun rays all along the doors and to the back bumper. It looked like flames to me, like those Hot Wheels cars. But still beautiful.

We painted mini suns on the hubcaps as well, just like Jake had requested, and as he was painting his he flicked his brush. A stream of orange paint hit me square in the chest. I gasped, and then slapped my brush across his shoulder. Before I knew it we were having a full out paint fight, swiping each-other with our paintbrushes as much as possible before they were completely drained of paint.

When the fight ended and we were trying to catch our breath after laughing so hard, we looked at the car. There were orange flecks and streaks every where. At first I was devastated that we had ruined the paint job, but then Jake convinced me that it only looked better this way. It was better when it wasn't perfect.

The paint job was done and it was dinnertime. I helped Jake pack up the paint and stuff and put them away into the cupboards that lined the walls of the garage. We were both completely covered in paint. I was pretty sure Jake had let me get him with the paint, because if he really had been trying, I bet he would be spotless right now.

I laughed as I looked at my reflection in the rear-view mirror. I had streaks of orange paint all the way down my arms and splattered across my face and chest. There were some sports on my legs and ankles as well. My brown skate shoes were splattered with paint, but I only thought it looked better like that.

Jake had a big streak of paint across his left cheek and several hits on his arms and chest. He even had some in his hair. I probably did, too, but I couldn't tell with my hair dyed this colour.

He strolled towards me and took me up into a hug again. I listened to his chuckle rumble through his chest, and then I could hear his steady heart beat. I was quite sure my heart wasn't as calm as that.

He pulled away to look at me, but kept his arms fastened around my waist. "The car looks amazing, Emma. Thanks for your help."

"You're welcome," I replied, smiling. "It was a lot of fun."

We were silent for a moment, and then, "You still wanna go to Port Angeles this weekend?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied. "I still need books." I was very conscious of the fact that he was slowly sliding his hands up and down my back, and I tried to keep my breath under control.

We looked at each-other for a moment, and then Jake slowly closed the space between us. My heart accelerated and thudded loudly in my chest. His lips barely grazed mine before my cell phone buzzed noisily in my pocket, my ring tone shattering the moment.

I gasped and pulled away from him, reaching for my pocket. "Someone has a rotten sense of timing," I growled, flipping the phone open. "Hello?" I asked into the receiver, making sure I sounded pissed.

"Hey, Emma? It's me," Bella said quietly.

I rolled my eyes and mouthed "Bella" to Jake before replying. "Hey, Bells. What's up?"

"I've got dinner on the table…I didn't know if you were staying at Jake's or coming home." Her voice was timid, monotone.

"I was just on my way, Bella," I replied, starting out of the garage. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes, is that alright?"

"Sure," she replied.

"Okay. Bye, Bells."

"See ya."

She hung up first.

I snapped my cell shut and stuffed it in my pocket. I turned to face Jake. "I'll take these home and wash them," I told him, plucking at the paint smeared shirt.

"Oh, don't wash them!" he cried. "That'll get rid of the magic and fun!"

"Okay," I said, laughing.

"Just bring them around tomorrow, so you don't have to change here and keep Bella waiting. I'll get you a plastic bag to put them in." Jake started for the house.

"I think Charlie's got some plastic bags at home," I called after him. But he had already banged through the front door.

I wandered around in front of the garage. It had stopped raining a while ago, but the smell of it still lingered in the air. I breathed in the scent of the rain and the pine trees, comforted by the natural smell.

Something moved in the bushes next to the garage. I wheeled to face it, my heart already started to move faster. I peered into the trees, trying to see past the ominous darkness. The bushes shifted again, and then one of the smaller trees shook. My eyes widened and I took a step back.

Suddenly the vegetation separated and a bear leaped out of the woods.

Only it wasn't a bear.

I couldn't tell what it was at first.

It was massive—possibly the biggest animal I had ever seen. It sort of looked like a wolf, but I didn't know wolves could get that big. It was bigger than the horses back in Arizona—bigger than my mom's old Clydesdale, and that was saying something. Its fur was black as pitch, but its yellow eyes darted around the yard until they found me. Its gaze locked on mine and advanced slowly, it's mouth pulling up over its teeth, exposing razor sharp canines that gleamed against the blackness of its fur. A growl ripped its way through its throat.

I screamed.

Suddenly Jacob was there, crouched defensively in front of me. He snarled at the big monster. Then, as soon was it had come, it was gone, darting back through the trees.

Before I could react, Jake's arms were around me again, and I leaned my full weight against him. His warm body soothed me to some extent, but inside I was still hysterical.

What the hell had just happened?

First, a monster had stepped out of the trees and looked like it was going to kill me. Then Jake appeared out of no where, defended me, and scared the thing off?

I must me going insane. I had imagined the wolf thing and Jake's defensiveness. He had heard me screaming and was comforting me now. I hung my head in shame.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, stroking the back of my hair with his hand.

"What. The. _Fuck_. Was. That. Thing?" I demanded, taking a breath in between each word to keep myself from passing out.

"Just the local wolves," he replied, too casually.

"Wolves get that big?" I demanded, outraged. "I don't think so!"

"You're not in Arizona anymore, Ems," he said calmly, taking my face into his hands. "There are many more monsters here in Forks."

I breathed heavily for a moment, just staring up into his eyes. Then I carefully pulled my face out of his hands. "Well, thank you. For scaring it off. I have no idea how you did that. Or how fast you got to me. I mean, I didn't even hear the front door close, let alone you running."

"You were probably too scared to really think about that stuff," he reminded me, laughing. He slung an arm around my shoulders again and led me to his black motorbike. Had parked it outside the garage to keep paint from getting on it.

He handed me a helmet and I put it on with shaking fingers.

The ride wasn't as fun as it had been the first time he'd taken me on a spin, but that was probably because my mind was full of that horrible creature that had scared the crap out of me. I held Jake tighter than necessary just thinking of the thing.

When we got back to Charlie's I handed Jake the helmet, gave him a quick, friendly hug good-bye and bounded into the house. I inhaled the scent of spaghetti, a familiar smell, but it didn't calm my tender nerves.

"Hey, Emma," Bella called from the kitchen. "Come on in. Your meal's in the microwave."

"Thanks, Bells," I said as I padded into the kitchen.

"Whoa," Bella said as she took in my paint-splattered clothes and my pale face. "What happened to you?"

"Had a paint fight with Jake," I replied. "Maybe I should change first," I added, looking at the chairs.

"You're pale, Ems—what happened?"

I contemplated telling her, but decided it wouldn't hurt to let her know there were monsters stalking La Push. "I saw this big black thing—it was massive Bella, as big as a horse—and it almost attacked me, I think. But Jake came out of no where and totally scared it off. He told me it was a wolf, but Bells, wolves just don't get that big."

Bella had turned away from me while I was explaining and was flipping aimlessly through a cookbook on the counter. "That must have freaked you out," she said flatly. "Good thing Jake was there."

"You should have seen it! I mean, Jake's big, but that wolf thing was bigger. And since when are wolves afraid of humans?"

"I dunno," Bella said, still not looking at me.

"Well, I'm gonna go change. Maybe you should tell Charlie about all this."

"Tell Charlie what?" asked a gruff voice.

I wheeled around. Charlie was standing in the doorway. "Hey, Chief Swan," I greeted, smiling as best as I could.

"What was that about a big wolf, Emma?" he asked, his face serious.

"Oh—nothing. It was just something Jake and I saw, that's all."

"Well, we've seen 'em before. About a year ago, there were a bunch of attacks on humans. I guess the monsters are back." Charlie frowned and then reached for the phone. "I'm gonna call the station."

I shrugged and bolted up the stairs, two at a time.

I found a plastic bag under the sink in the bathroom and stripped down. I folded the clothes into the bag and then hopped into the shower, letting the warm water soothe me. I scrubbed at the paint and managed to get most of it off. I honestly didn't want to get all of it off yet. It was like a representation of my day.

My best day ever, I realized with a smile, forgetting the big wolf and just remembering Jake.

_My _Jake.


	13. Anger

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

It was all I could do to keep from ripping Sam's head off. I stood there, shaking from head to toe while heat streaked up and down my back, fighting for control. If I phased now and killed Sam…well, it wouldn't be good.

Sam didn't look too worried, though. He just stood there, facing me, his brawny arms folded across his chest, looking at me with an almost bored expression.

"You scared the _shit_ out of her," I growled through my teeth. "You scared her so bad, Sam! She wasn't the same after that; she barely even hugged me when I dropped her off at home. She may never wanna come back here!"

Sam didn't say anything; didn't even budge.

"Does it bother you _at all_ that she saw you?"

"You didn't tell her what I was," Sam said slowly, as if he were talking to a five year old. "If that had been the case, then yes, there would be a problem."

"I shouldn't have to lie to her to cover your fuck up!" I yelled, raising my shaking hands in the air. "How would you feel if I had scared Emily to tears and you had to lie to her? How would you feel under the possibility that she may not ever trust you completely again, that she may never want to visit you again?!"

Sam sighed and dropped his arms. He loped past me and headed for the trees.

"Where are you going?" I shouted.

"This conversation is over, Jacob. Let it go," Sam replied without stopping or turning.

"That's bullshit! This is _so_ not over!"

Sam finally wheeled around to face me and planted himself again. "I said that this is _over_, Jacob."

A violent shake raked me through and I came way too close to phasing. I took several deep breaths before I answered. "That Alpha shit doesn't work on me anymore, Sam. I thought you learned that last time my friends were in danger."

Sam growled, and I caught his hands twitching. "I wasn't being an Alpha, Jacob. I was being the responsible one."

"The "responsible one" who almost gave our tribe away!" I yelled at him, crossing the clearing in four short strides. I stood right in front of him, smugly glaring down at him.

Then Sam did something I would never have expected him to do. He raised his arms, pushed his palms against my chest and shoved me away from him. I only stumbled from surprise, rather than the impact. Sam was no strong than me when not in wolf form.

"You're pathetic, Jacob Black," Sam sneered.

"Alright. Well, since this is no big deal, I'll just go play peek-a-boo with Emily now."

Sam's fist connected with my jaw before I even had time to think. I really fell back this time, stumbling backwards at least four paces, clutching my bleeding mouth. "You bastard!"

"Fuck you," Sam snapped. Then he turned and stormed out of the clearing, rippling into wolf form as he went.

I had already begun to heal, but blood was still dripping from my teeth. I wiped my face on my sleeve, ruining the one t-shirt I bothered to keep around. Grunting in frustration, I yanked off the shirt and my shorts and blurred into the trees, phasing as I ran.

I streaked through the trees as fast as I could possibly go.

--

When I got back to the house it sounded like Billy was on the phone. I slammed the door behind me and kicked the wall on my way to my room.

"Jake?" Billy called from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, dad," I called back tiredly.

"The phone's for you."

Judging by his tone of voice, I knew it was Bella. I barely suppressed a groan because now Bella knew that I was home, and she'd just be more pissed if I outright refused to talk to her.

I stalked into the kitchen and pretty much snatched the phone from Billy.

"Hello," I growled into the receiver.

"Jake, I'm pretty sure Emma saw Sam today," Bella said in a loud whisper. "She was really freaked out when she came home."

"I'm aware that she saw Sam," I said through my teeth. "Thank you for reminding me."

"You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Tell her what?"

"About the…" She dropped her voice even lower. "Werewolf thing."

"No, of course not. Did you?"

"No."

"Good. So what's the problem?"

She paused. "I just think you should be more careful over there."

"It's not my fault Sam decided to play show-and-tell!" I cried, a tremor rocking through my arms. "And I definitely don't need you on my back about it, too."

"I'm sorry!" she apologized quickly. "Jeez, Jake, take a pill. I was just making sure. I mean, Emma said it looked like Sam was going to kill her!"

"So she overreacted. Any human would."

Bella sighed audibly and didn't say anything for a moment. Then, in a calm, even voice, she said, "Jake, about the other day…"

"Don't worry about it."

"No, listen. I'm sorry. I don't know why I was being so mean back there. I really am happy for you, and for Emma, too. I just wanted you to know…I didn't know if you were still mad at me."

All my anger evaporated and I took on a calmer, gentler tone. "Aw, Bells, you know I can't stay mad at you for too long. And you can't take all the blame for this one, either. I was a jerk. Always am."

"No, you're not. Just most of the time." A hint of a smile was in her voice now.

I smiled too. "Thanks."

She laughed. "Are we good?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Bells."

"I'm sorry too. Love you, Jake."

"Mm-hmm. See ya later, Bella."

"Bye."

She hung up.

I put the phone back and headed for my room, passing out before I even hit the bed.


	14. Rebecca

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

"Are you sure about this?" I asked as I twisted the keys in the ignition.

"Absolutely, one hundred-percent positive," Bella replied, grinning widely.

I sighed as the truck roared to life beneath us.

What was I going to tell Jacob now that Bella had insisted on joining us to Port Angeles? He would be even more annoyed when Edward joined us later.

So, okay, Bella's heart was in the right place. The point was for her to get Jake and Edward into the same room long enough for a decent conversation to take place. As much as I didn't want an audience, I was glad that Bella was doing this. Maybe if Edward and Jacob started getting along the four of us could hang out together. But I would never object to some alone time with Jacob.

Still, I needed to spend time with Bella, too. I couldn't sleep at her house and eat her food and then ditch her for some guy I met a week ago. The biggest part of my visit had been to see Bella, my best friend since late elementary school, who I'd missed all year while I was stuck in Phoenix.

As I pulled out of the drive way, enjoying the leather-tobacco smell of Bella's truck's cab, the rain spluttered to a halt. I gasped and smiled. A good omen. This wouldn't be so bad. Edward and Jake would get along and the four of us would have a blast on the best road trip ever.

The plan was this:

We would drive by La Push to pick up Jacob, and then drive all the way to Port Angeles. There we would "run in to" Edward (Bella said that if Jake saw him in the truck he wouldn't come at all) and then figure out what we wanted to do in Port Angeles for a day.

Not too complex, but brilliant. The only way this wouldn't work was if Bella tried lying to Jacob. Apparently, Bella was the world's worst liar. I didn't want to lie to him, but I decided it was for the greater good. Yeah. Right. Okay.

Jacob was waiting for us (well, me, really) when we pulled up to the curb of the road. I hopped out of the truck and went over to him.

"Hey, Emma!" he cried, grinning widely. "How're ya doin'?" He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Great!" I replied into his chest.

Jacob looked over my head, then. He saw Bella, who had come around to our side of the truck, and only smiled, no hint of disappointment on his face. "Heya, Bells," he said brightly.

"Hi," she replied, failing to fully return the smile.

"Well, let's go get Juno!" Jake declared. He took my hand and began towing me away.

"Juno?" Bella asked as she followed us.

Jake turned to address her. "Emma and I named the Rabbit Juno. You'll see why."

I had almost forgotten about out pet name for the vehicle. I hadn't known that Jacob took it seriously. I had called it Juno as a joke because the orange stripes reminded me of the movie.

The Rabbit was waiting to go. The paint had dried a shade darker that it had been before, but it still looked great. Jacob had actually painted the name Juno on the driver's side door. I smiled and squeezed his warm hand.

"You guys did this?" Bella asked incredulously, pointing at the car.

We nodded in unison.

"This is incredible," Bella said quietly, touching the big sun on the hood.

"You should have helped us, Bells," I offered. "It would've been more fun with you there. Not that it wasn't fun without you," I added. Then I looked at both of them. "No offense. Both of you. Okay, wow. Just forget I said anything."

"We know what you mean," Jake said, laughing. He pulled his hand out of mine and settled on wrapping his arms around me from behind.

Bella looked from me to Jacob and back, a slow grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. She turned away and inspected the car. "So are you guys like…a _thing_…now?" she asked softly.

"Uh…." I bit my lip, unsure of how to answer.

A bell-like medley saved me. Bella reached into her back pocket and took out her cell phone, which was ringing. "It's Edward," she said. "I gotta take this." She ducked out of the garage so quickly I would've missed it if I'd blinked.

"Constantly worrying if she's safe," Jake muttered under his breath.

I casually wiggled out of his hold and approached the car. "Juno looks amazing," I said, smiling when I said the name. "Even better than I remember her."

"She's missed you," Jake replied, standing on the other side of the car and looking at me over the roof. "She's not the only one."

I blushed and lowered my eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't call."

"That's okay," he said, smiling. "I'm not a freak. I wasn't like, staring at the phone or anything. I just missed having you around. I was gonna invite you for a spin on the motorbike, but I figured you were spending time with Bella, which is legit. I mean, I saw you on Tuesday; that's not too long ago, is it?"

I giggled and looked back at him. "Actually, I was just enduring school and doing loads of homework. I probably missed you more than you missed me," I added with a wink.

"I doubt that's possible."

I dropped my gaze again, flushed.

He cleared his throat after a moment of silence. "So, um…are we?"

"Are we what?"

"What Bella said…a…_thing_?" he asked timidly.

I looked up in surprise. I had never heard him sound unsure. I almost forgot what he'd asked. "I dunno. Are we?"

"We could be," he said, so quietly I could barely hear him. "If you want."

I blinked. Breathed a few times. Gathered my thoughts. Closed my mouth. Opened it. Closed it again. Stalling for time.

"Jake," I said, finally, after a very long pause. "You know that I would like…no, _love_ to be that with you…but now is probably not the best time…for me. I mean, I just moved here, I only met you a week ago…everything's moving a bit too fast for me, and I just want to find myself here first. You know?"

"I totally get it," Jake said, brightening a little. "Don't worry about it. You take your time, and talk to me when you're ready."

"Thanks, Jake," I said, smiling weakly.

He came around and hugged me again, but it was a reassuring hug and he didn't crush me against him like he usually did. "Don't worry about a thing, Emma. I'm here for you, no matter what."

"Thanks, buddy." I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed once, then pulled away.

Bella came in then, flipping her phone shut. "Well? Shall we go?" she asked, gesturing to the car.

Jacob started, but then composed his face. "You're coming with us?"

"Well, yeah," Bella replied, grinning. "What else did you think I was here for?"

"Oh, well, Bells, actually, I—"

"I invited her," I said quickly, cutting him off. "She needed to pick up some stuff in Port Angeles, so I thought we might as well make one trip and save the environment…you know, carpool?"

Jake took a moment, and then nodded once. "Sounds good to me," he said, finally breaking into a truthful smile.

I sighed with relief and squeezed his hand. "Am I driving her today?"

"You most definitely are," he responded as he climbed in the passenger seat.

The drive was fun and peaceful. Bella sat in the middle of the backseat and leaned between the front seats to talk to us. I turned on the radio and we all laughed and chatted and had a good time. Well, Jake and I did. I wasn't sure if Bella was enjoying this as much as she'd been expecting. I tried to include her as much as I could, but sometimes it was easy to forget anyone else existed when I was talking to Jake.

We got to Port Angeles at one. It had started to rain again, but it didn't dampen the mood at all. I parked the car and we took out our rain jackets before heading for the nearest café, a cosy little place nestled between a fitness club and a convenience store.

This was where Edward was supposed to "run into us". We had realized that a café was not as convincing as just walking down the street, but no matter where we were, Bella and I knew that Jake would figure out our plan. The challenge was to keep the guys together and avoid a big scene where one of them stormed out.

Edward as in on the whole plan too. It made me a little defensive. I knew that Jake could be reasonable, too. I mean, if I were in his shoes, I would be pissed at the guy that stole away the love of my life, too. But I had secretly hoped—very, very secretly—that now that I was here he wouldn't mind seeing Bell and Edward together.

I was absolutely right. When Edward joined us Jacob barely batted an eyelash. He conversed with the couple across from us as if he had never been broken hearted, his arm slung around my shoulders. At least, he was cool until Bella put her left hand on the table.

Jacob and I both saw the ring at the same time. My eyes and my mouth opened wide as I took in the elaborate diamond set up on her ring finger. Jake had the opposite reaction. He shut his mouth tight and his eyes narrowed.

"What the hell is that?" I demanded, pointing to the rock. "Since when?"

"Since last June," Bella replied. "I just don't wear the ring very often, but the date is set now, so…." She trailed off timidly.

Jacob didn't say anything.

Edward looked from him to me and back again. "We would both be very appreciative if the two of you would be in the wedding party." He glanced at Jacob's face. "But it would be understandable if you'd rather not."

"I know I would love to," I said quickly. I looked at Jake. "Jake? What do you think?"

I grabbed his hand under the table, squeezed it, and then rested out interlocked hands on his thigh.

He took a deep breath, and then his face cleared completely, his frown turning upside down. "Sounds awesome. Thanks."

"Oh, Bella!" I squealed, jumping up. She stood too, and I gave her a big girl hug. "Congratulations! I am so happy for you guys!"

We pulled away and took our seats again, both grinning from ear to ear.

"I'll be right back," Jake said quietly. He excused himself and bolted from the café.

I frowned and looked at Bella. "I should go make sure he's alright…."

"He's fine," Bella said, waving him off. "He already knew."

"He _did_?"

"Yeah, he sort of found out the hard way days after Edward first proposed. He just hadn't seen the ring yet. I guess this was a reminder that we're actually going through with it." Her face suddenly contorted in pain and she put her head down on the table.

Edward rubbed her shoulders. "It's alright, love," he murmured soothingly.

"Maybe it's not okay," I snapped.

Edward looked up at me in surprise.

I glared at him. "Maybe he's really, really hurt."

"We know he is," Bella moaned. "But what are we supposed to do about it?"

"I know what you're _not_ supposed to do," I snapped. "Show off your ring in front of him, ask him to be in the wedding party…let alone asking him to even come to the wedding!"

"Emma, he's my best friend," Bella begged, her eyes welling with tears.

"Treat him like it, then!" I shouted. I got up from the table and stormed out after Jacob.

He was no where in sight, so I wandered back to Juno. I felt silly for my childish outburst and the dramatic exit, so there was no way I could go back into the café. But both Jacob and I had left our jackets there. I leaned against Juno, hugging myself but still shivering as the rain pelted down. I didn't have the keys, either.

"Excuse me?" someone said.

I turned.

A woman was standing a few feet away from me. She was young, probably in her early twenties, with pitch black hair that was styled into a Gwen Stephanie-like look. Her lips were painted red. Both colours contrasted hauntingly with her pale white, chalky skin. Her complexion reminded me of the Cullens, but she was no where near as lovely as they were.

"Yes?" I asked, surprised.

"Could you help me? I bought something three times my weight and can't get it into my truck." She smiled, revealing straight, white teeth.

I tried to return the smile, but I was still too upset. "Yeah, sure."

She led me around the corner of the convenience store into a light alley. An enormous, glossy black truck was waiting there. There was a large cardboard box sitting by the back bumper. Big letters had been stamped on the side: FRAGILE.

"What is it?" I asked casually.

"Oh, just a little something for my boyfriend," she said. "His birthday is next week. I'm Rebecca, by the way."

"Emma," I said, offering her my hand. She made no move to take it, so I let it drop. I turned back to the box. "So do you want to take that end, and I'll take this one?"

Rebecca's eyes suddenly went very, very wide, and she pointed to something behind me. "Look out!"

I whirled, my hands out in front of me.

Something hard grabbed me from behind. Ice-cold rocks wrapped around my waist, pulling me down. I crashed into something that gave way under my weight; something shattered. There were little diamonds everywhere, and a lot of red. I struggled and thrashed, too scared to scream. What was holding me? Where had Rebecca gone? What was happening? Something brushed against the back of my neck.

Suddenly there was an animal-like growling from somewhere in the alley. The stones released me and I crumpled, curling into a ball and shivering, trying to breathe through the on-coming shock.

Then I saw Rebecca. It didn't seem like she was hurt, but she was crouched over me, almost protectively. Her lips had parted over her teeth, which were barred. A fowl snarling sounded from deep within her. She held her arms out, her fingers clenched like claws. I stared at her. She was like a primitive animal, protecting her injured young…_or defending her earned prey. _

I tried to roll away from her, but she jumped to my side again, her gaze never moving from whatever it was she was staring at. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly another sort of growling started, this one louder and much more frightening, like a big dog.

Rebecca hissed, her eyebrows arching dramatically over her liquid onyx eyes. And then she was gone.

I lay there, gasping for the breath I had been holding, warm rain water seeping into my clothes.

Someone bent over me. "Emma? Emma, sweetie, are you okay?"

"Did she get her?"

"No, thank God. Emma?"

"I'd better make sure Bella stays where she is."

"Did you know her?"

"No. I'll need to warn Carlisle. He needs to know that there are others in the area."

"I thought I smelled bloodsucker. But I thought it was just you." Another vicious snarl. "Dammit, Edward. If I find out that she was one of yours…."

"Of course not! You know my family, Jacob. Don't be ridiculous."

Jacob? I reached for him. My palm touched something smooth and warm. His skin? "Jacob?" I murmured.

"Yes, yes, baby, it's me. It's Jacob. I'm here. You're going to be okay, alright? Everything's going to be fine." Something warm touched my face, caressed it, and I sighed.

I finally opened my eyes.

There he was. My Jacob. His eyes were ridden with concern but it was still him.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes. I can see you, too," I said quietly, reaching up to touch his face. I looked around. "Where did Edward go?"

"He went to get Bella. He…had to leave." Jake's eyes swept the area around me. "How do you feel?"

"Probably better than I look," I replied, trying to keep it light.

"I sure hope so. There's blood everywhere."

"_What_?"

"You fell into a box full of a crystal dinner set," he explained, reaching over to me and grabbing something. He held up a shard of crystal covered in bright red.

I winced. "Ooh." Suddenly I was in a lot of pain.

Blackness overtook me before I could react further.


	15. Comfort

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

I absently stroked Emma's cheek as she slept peacefully, my eyebrows poised in a furious frown. I couldn't believe I hadn't protected her better. That I had let this happen. I felt sick and angry and worried all at the same time.

Sue Clearwater hovered around, poking her head in to check on the "patient" every now and then. Seth was off with the pack, and Leah had thankfully made herself scarce.

It had been Edward's idea to take Emma to the Clearwater's rather than Charlie's house or mine. Sue was good with first aid, and she'd cleaned and bandaged all of Emma's cuts faster than I could have dreamed of doing. I had to give it to the bloodsucker—he knew what was best for people. Except for Bella.

Sure, I had stopped hopelessly loving Bella as soon as I had imprinted, but I still wished she hadn't gotten involved with those damn bloodsuckers. She was still my best friend and I still cared for her. But I knew Bella would be pissed if I still tried to protect her from them. So as far as she knew I had given up. It still bugged me, but I wasn't going to act on it anymore.

A low groan ripped me from my thoughts and I focused on the injured girl before me. Emma was adjusting her position on the couch; she was lying on her side facing me while I knelt by her head, stroking her face. Her plush lips twisted into a grimace before relaxing again.

I was, again, disoriented by her beauty. She probably thought she was plain—but I knew better. Her dark honey coloured hair hung in scrunch waves down to her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face. Her peach complexion (the tan had faded completely now) seemed to glow in any lighting, her cheeks a permanent rose flush. Her eyes—periwinkle blue—shone like stars. I wished she would open her eyes so I could look at them.

But it wouldn't have made a difference to me if she was the most hideous girl on the planet. I would still love her, unconditionally, because she was her. She was my Emma. She was perfect for me, my soul mate, my one and only. I would never love anyone else ever again.

I marvelled in the absolute power of the imprint. There was no going back. There was no changing fate. Not that I wanted to.

Suddenly Emma stirred and my attention was riveted on her again. "Emma?" I cooed as her eyelids fluttered. "Baby? Can you hear me?"

Emma finally opened her eyes—I suppressed a gasp as their colour hit me full on—and stared right at me, trying to focus. "Jake?"

"Yeah, babe. It's me."

I caressed her face gently as she stretched and groaned, getting all the stiffness out of her joints. "I feel like crap. What happened?"

"Carlisle says you just blacked out from shock," I said. "But if you're like Bella, you probably just got sick from the sight of blood."

"Ooh." She grimaced. Her nose scrunched up in a cute way. "Yeah. That's probably why."

I almost rolled my eyes as I remembered Bella. Funny how someone who almost pukes at the sight of blood falls in love with a guy who drinks it. How ironic.

Emma stretched out and pulled herself up into sitting position. Her eyes fell on the bandages that dotted her arms and shoulders. She touched her face and neck and found the ones there, too. "I must look like such an idiot right now," she said, laughing lightly.

"No, never," I said quickly, taking her hand in both of mine. "How are you feeling?"

"Absolutely fine," she replied, beaming at me. Then her smiled faltered. "Hey, whatever happened to Rebecca?"

"Who?"

"There was this girl—well, young woman, I guess—who asked for help getting that box into her truck. When I…fell…she sorta disappeared. Well, I saw her, and she was kinda crouched over me, it was weird, but, you know, I was just wondering if she's okay." Emma had said all this in one breath, and now she gasped for air, her eyes never leaving mine.

"Oh…her," I said. She was talking about that bloodsucker that had tried to kill her. "She ran off."

"Oh. Was she hurt?"

"Not that I know of."

"Oh. What happened, exactly?"

"You fell into a box full of crystal," I explained slowly.

"Why though?"

"You tell me, clumsy-pants." I flashed her a grin.

She smiled back. "Shut up."

I laughed and sat next to her, pulling her into me. She yawned and rested her cheek against my collarbone. "There was lots of growling noises. Maybe there was a freaky dog or something. I also remember being grabbed…it was like really cold stone wrapped around me and _pulled_ me down. Maybe I was already in the process of blacking out," she added, shaking her head. I was grateful that the statement was rhetorical.

We sat still for a while before Sue came in again. She smiled when she saw Emma sitting up and well, but I also caught the gleam in her eyes when she saw us cuddling.

"How are you feeling, Emma?" she asked the girl of my dreams.

Emma lifted her head to look at Sue. "Perfect," she replied, smiling her dazzling smile.

Sue returned the gesture. "Well, good. I'll let Jacob take care of you now."

"Do you have the time?" Emma asked.

"It's four in the afternoon, dear."

"Thank you."

Sue retreated to the kitchen.

"Do you want me to take you to Charlie's place?" I asked her, rubbing her upper arm.

Emma placed her head on me again. "No…maybe we could chill at the beach or something."

"La Push?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. Not much to do there."

"I don't care as long as you're with me," Emma mumbled drowsily.

I chuckled, trying not to react to the warmth that spread through my neck and face and the pleased sensation in my brain. "Sounds like someone needs some more sleep."

"No," she protested lively. She jumped up from the couch and grabbed my hand, trying in vain to pull me up after her. "Come on, Jake, let's go to La Push!"

I laughed as she struggled against my weight. I let her lean back until I feared she would fall before jumping up. I caught her before she could crash into the coffee table and slung her over my shoulder.

"I can walk, Jake," she protested brightly. I felt a dull pressure on my back and realized she was punching me.

I ignored her and just laughed as I kicked our way out the door and strolled down to the beach. When we got there I set her on her feet and took her hand before she could teeter off balance. She laughed and clutched to my arm for support.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked her. "You're not dizzy or anything?"

"Naw," she replied, grinning up at me. "I'm fine. I always get kind of hyper after passing out."

"I see," I said, smiling. I looked out at the steel grey ocean. "I bet this beach is crap compared to what you've seen."

"The beaches are nicer in California, I'll admit," she said, following my gaze. "But I didn't live in California. I was only there for the summers."

"But you were happy there." It wasn't a question.

I could feel Emma's questioning gaze on my face but resisted the incredible urge to look at her. "Yeah, I liked it there. No parents, just me and my friends and volleyball and the sun."

I finally brought my gaze down to meet hers as we walked slowly across the loose stones. "Are you happy here?"

She thought for a moment and then nodded once. "Happier than I thought I would be."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Forks is so different from Arizona. I knew there was no sun, no beach volleyball. I thought I would hate it here."

"Then why did you come here?"

"I wanted to see Bella," she replied honestly. "And I'll admit I just wanted to get away. Forks was kind of my escape."

"Get away from what?"

"My family. If you can call it that."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"It's fine. I do want to."

We had arrived at the driftwood tree, the one that Bella and I had spent so much time sitting on. We sat down, our shoulders touching, our fingers intertwined.

"My parents divorced, like, five years ago," Emma began, looking out at the water. "And my mom took off. I haven't seen her since. My dad isn't one to wait around, so he got over it and started seeing this other woman, Lisa. Lisa has got to be the biggest bitch I have ever met." Her brow lowered into a scowl I had never seen her use. "Now they're engaged, and their wedding is next month. I escaped now so that I wouldn't have to go."

I frowned too. "You're not going to your dad's wedding?"

"No," she replied firmly. "I don't want to support them."

"But he's your dad," I pressed.

"I don't think of him as my dad anymore. He's more of a prison guard who treats me like crap and expects me to take every change like a free ice cream cone. He doesn't even care what this is putting me through." She paused and took a deep breath. "My older brother Derek did the same thing. He ran. He's living in New York now, with some buddies. He couldn't take it, either." She paused again, and this time her breath quivered. "Lisa used to beat me."

"_What_?" I demanded. I cupped her chin in my hand and pulled her face around to look at me. "What did she do to you?"

"She just hit me on occasion," Emma said. Her eyes were welling with tears, but I could tell she was fighting them.

"What did your dad do?"

"He didn't know. She only hit me when he was at work. And she threatened to hurt me worse if I told him." She looked away from me, but not before I saw the first tear escape.

"Did she hurt Derek, too?"

"She took most of it out on him, but usually it was because he defended me. But when he left…." A short sob racked through her.

"He left you defenceless." My hands were trembling, so I took some deep breaths in attempt to calm myself. "Did he realize what he was doing? Did he invite you to come with him?"

"Yeah, he did," she said. "I was supposed to go with him to New York, but changed my mind. I remembered Bella lived here. I thought I might as well see her and get away. Kill two birds with one stone."

She was full out bawling now, so I pulled her tighter against me and let her tears soak my t-shirt. I held her until she cried herself dry, stroking her hair, her back, murmuring soothing words in her ear.

When she was through she pulled away, wiping her eyes with her shirt. I beat her to it and dried all her tears with my thumb. I looked her in the eye as I spoke. "You stay here as long as you want," he said. "When it's time to move out from Bella's place you'll come and stay at mine. Alright? I'm here for you, baby, I'm here." I hugged her again, and couldn't help but shiver when she snaked her arms around my waist.

"Thank you, Jacob," she breathed into my shoulder.


	16. Nightmare

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

By the time Jacob dropped me off at Charlie's place it was well past dinnertime. I had been nervous about Bella's reaction to my tardiness but instead she only wondered if I was feeling better and offered me some leftovers from dinner. I rejected them, seeing as Sue had insisted on feeding me down at the Clearwaters'.

I went up to Bella's room after getting ready for bed, my tiny collection of nail polish in hand. Time for some girly bonding time. I knew Bella wouldn't be as enthusiastic as some girls were, but hey, we needed to be doing _something_ while talking otherwise it would be awkward as hell.

"Knock, knock," I said as I let myself into her room.

"Hey," she said, failing to keep the surprise out of her voice as she looked up from the battered old book she was reading. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to hang out. I brought nail polish to complete our stereotypical image of a girls' night in." I flashed a grin.

She returned it weakly. "Alright."

I dropped onto her bed and spread out my grand total of four tubes of nail polish, three of them shades of natural pink. "Please retain your enthusiasm at my astonishing variety," I joked.

Bella laughed dryly and reached for the clear pink colour. "It's more than I've got."

I grabbed the only coloured one—bright yellow—and went to work on my right hand.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Lefty?" she asked.

"Yep," I replied, nodding. "I might need you to do my left hand."

"Well I will definitely need help with both hands," Bella said, setting the unopened glass vial down on the bed. "So…did you need to talk to me about something?"

I knew she was getting at stuff about Jacob, but he wasn't what I wanted to talk about for once. "I wanted to know exactly what happened this afternoon. I mean, after I blacked out."

She shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Edward wouldn't let me near the scene. He towed me out of Port Angeles, though, saying that Jacob had a good handle on you. He told me there was…a lot of blood." She looked down, and I sprang on the hesitation.

"Does Edward have a problem with blood, then?" I asked. "Jake said he took off as soon as he noticed it."

Bella swallowed. "Yeah. He gets a little…sick."

"Like you."

"Worse than me."

"Wow. That's saying something."

She didn't smile. She didn't look up. She didn't do anything. She just sat there.

"Look, Bella, about this afternoon…" I began.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly. "You were right. I shouldn't have exposed him like that. It was wrong." She paused. "It's not like it's your fault, anyway," she added so softly I knew I hadn't been meant to hear it.

"What's not my fault?"

"Jacob's behaviour," she replied gruffly.

"His behaviour?" I asked, puzzled. I hadn't noticed anything weird since we'd first met—when he'd passed out. "What do you mean?"

"He's been neglecting me, that's all."

Oh. Well that certainly was my fault. "Well, yeah, that is partially my fault. I've been occupying most of his time."

"Well, you and him both, then."

"Sorry, Bells," I said gently, placing a hand on her knee. "I guess we just figured Edward would keep you company. You seem so…_warmed_ to him and his family. You fit right in. Like you're already married," I added, smiling. "Speaking of which…tell me _all_ the details."

Bella then sprang into a less-than-enthusiastic summary of the events to come in the nest few weeks. The biggest challenge, she said, would be telling Charlie. I opted to help but she shook her head, saying that it would be enough of a strain with three people in the room.

She also told me that Alice had convinced her to let her be in charge of everything, so I could expect something very elaborate for my bridesmaids dress. Alice was to be the maid of honour, and I smiled at that fact. She must have been ecstatic when Bella asked her.

Bella said the colours were sky blue, silver and white. I was so relieved that pink wasn't one of them that I flopped to the floor, sighing.

"I hate, hate, _hate _the colour pink," I said when Bella asked what was wrong with me.

She laughed. "Me, too. Mostly because I look awful in it."

"Oh, me too!" I cried. Then I paused. "Well, maybe not anymore, since Forks has drained all my tan from me, but I still hate it." I giggled and then blew on my nails some more to dry them. I looked at the glossy yellow varnish and sighed again. "Yellow is definitely my favourite colour."

"I know why," Bella sing songed. "Does it have something to do with a certain _Juno_?"

I laughed with her and pulled myself back up onto the bed. "Maybe."

"What's up with you and Jake anyway?" she asked casually.

I smiled, but my mind whirled. What was up with us, anyway? What were we? Good friends? A couple? I knew that wasn't true; I'd half turned him down this morning. But I still felt…I dunno…_connected _to him in a way I had never felt before. I explained all this to Bella and she nodded away, the gleam in her eye suggesting she knew something I didn't. When I questioned her she only said, "Jake will explain eventually" and winked.

By midnight, we both had bright yellow nails, sore abdomens from laughing, and bad 80s songs stuck in our heads (Bella had put on a CD to help ease the awkward moments). I padded down to the den and curled up on the couch, pulling the scratchy blankets up to my chin. I smiled to myself. I remembered something Bella had said to me: "All I know is, I have never seen Jacob look at a girl the way he looks at you."

I was glad Bella was okay with us now. And I hoped she and Jake would work things out before her wedding so he could be best man like she'd asked him. Mostly I just wanted him to be there, with me. I wanted him to take my hand while Bella and Edward were saying their vows and look at me so I'd know that that would be us one day.

I frowned. Now I was imagining us getting married? Where did that come from? I barely knew him, after all.

But I felt like I had known him all my life. Maybe I had, subconsciously. Maybe we had always been there for each-other.

I fell asleep thinking about him, a smile forever on my face.

--

_I was walking through a forest. The tree trunks were large and moist. Moss covered them and hung off the branches, creating a canopy over my path. Mist hung in the air, swirled around my ankles. It was silent. Too silent. Even my footsteps didn't make a sound on the muddy ground. No animal scurried around. So was I the predator…or the prey?_

_I sat down on the side of my trail, folding my hind legs underneath me. My tail swished back and forth, grazing the forest floor but still making no noise. I waited, my eyes scanning the scene before me._

_Suddenly—so fast it nearly stopped my heart—panic struck me, cold and terrifying. I howled in surprise, and then agony as I saw the visions. Inside my mind, a picture began to form: a tiny child, a girl. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Her face was round, cherubic, even, with ivory skin. Blood pooled in her cheeks to give her a nice rosy glow. Her eyes, chocolate brown with a red-ish tint, stared over the shoulder of a tall blonde girl, right at me. I froze and the panic left me. Something deep inside of me squirmed. I pressed a hand to my stomach and groaned, never breaking my gaze from the baby girl in the blonde's arms. _

_Then, as fast as the panic had come, the girl's face changed. Suddenly she looked horrible; she looked like a monster. Her eyes were the brightest red I had ever seen. Her mouth opened, revealing pearly white teeth, her eyeteeth sharp and gleaming. A fowl snarl ripped towards me from her throat. She sprang out of the blonde's arms and bound towards me. I screamed._

--

I woke to the sound of piercing screams. I shook my head, trying to clear the sound, but the screams kept on going. Someone was shaking my shoulder, breathing my name into my ear. The screams called on.

"Emma, Emma, shh, it's okay, calm down, Emma, Emma…" The voice went on and on in a pattern.

The screams stopped. My eyes snapped open and my chest heaved as I took in a big gulp of air. It was then that I realized that it had been me screaming. I blinked and took the scene before me in with one rolling sweep. There were three other people in the room. The biggest one, the one closest to me, was still murmuring things in my ear and stroking my hairline. His hand was blazing hot and felt good against my cool, clammy forehead.

I recognized him immediately. "Jacob," I breathed.

"Yes, baby. It's me. It was just a nightmare, Emma," he replied, still patting my head.

I looked past him and saw Charlie hovering in the doorway, his eyes wide as plates. Bella hovered in the center of the room, looking like she wanted to do something but didn't know what or how. The room was dark and I could barely make them out with just the moonlight sweeping in through the window.

"You were screaming," Jacob was saying. His breath was hot on my face, but I liked it. "Scared us half to death."

"Sorry," I whispered, feeling my cheeks burn.

"Don't be," Jake said swiftly, waving my apology away. "_I'm_ sorry that I didn't wake you sooner."

Something dawned on me and I peered at him through the darkness. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He looked sheepish and stopped stroking my hair. "I came to check on you, to make sure you were okay after this afternoon. I guess not."

I vaguely remembered this afternoon: Sitting in the restaurant with Edward and Bella, meeting Rebecca, falling into a crystal glass set, sitting on the Clearwaters' couch in Jacob's arms. It clicked into place. He was making sure I was okay and had recovered from fainting alright.

"I wasn't dreaming about that," I said weakly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered.

I shook my head no.

After a few moments in which he comforted me, Charlie and Bella said good night and went back to their rooms. I had apologized for waking them, but they both seemed a little wary still. I sighed.

Jacob offered to stay with me and I accepted eagerly. I was half asleep when he climbed up on the couch with me and pulled me into his arms. I curled against his chest, embracing his warmth, and fell into a bleak, dreamless sleep.


	17. Truth

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Jacob -

"So when were you planning on telling her?" Bella asked me sceptically once we were sure Emma was asleep. We had padded into the kitchen and now sat at the kitchen table, each with a mug of hot chocolate cupped underneath our hands.

I raised my eyebrow. "Tell her what?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "You know."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure how to tell her."

"Maybe you should…you know, _show _her, like you did with me," Bella suggested, sipping her hot chocolate. "She's not going to believe you any other way, no matter how much she thinks she loves you." She winked to show me that she was kidding.

I sighed and leaned back in my seat. "I dunno, Bells. I really don't." I sighed again. Bella was right. Of course she was right; she was Bella. Eager to escape her meaningful glare, I changed the subject. "So we're having a bonfire tonight on the rez," I explained casually. "If you and Emma wanna come, that'd be cool."

"It would also be the perfect setting to tell Emma," Bella said, smirking as she cornered me again. "Billy can tell a story, which will get her in the mood, warm her up to the thought of men shifting into wolves. Then you pull her aside and…I dunno, tell her." Bella sipped her hot chocolate.

I gaped. It sounded so simple when she said it. But I knew it would be easier said than done. When I voiced that thought she said, "I know you'll do what's right at the time, Jake. But Emma needs to know. Emily and Kim and Rachel do. Claire's too young, but Quil will tell her when she's older."

I took a swig of hot chocolate, letting Bella's words sink in. It made sense. It was the perfect plan. The only part that was missing was my backbone. Paul and Jared and Sam had all said that convincing their imprints had been easy. But that was probably because by that point their girls had been so hung up on them they were willing to believe anything they said.

Emma was different. I wasn't sure if Emma really was _hung up _on me. She said she wasn't ready to date me yet. Sure, she let me hold her hand and put my arm around her. But Bella had done the same thing, and I knew that it hadn't meant anything more to her than friendly affection.

I knew the point of an imprint was to carry on the wolf gene. But it was also just to make the subject of your imprinting happy, no matter what. If Emma wanted me as a best friend, that's what I would be. If she wanted to date me then that's what would happen. If she wanted me to piss off, I would. If she wanted to marry me and have all my children…well, we'd get to that later. But I would do it. All those things I would do willingly, because it would be what she wanted.

But I didn't know what Emma wanted from me. Whatever it was, I had a feeling it wasn't love.

As if reading my mind, Bella said gently, "She loves you, Jake. I've known Emma my whole life. She's had a lot of boyfriends. There were at least two guys she dated for over a year. But in all those relationships, I have never seen her look at any of those guys the way she looks at you." Bella reached across the table and placed her hand on mine. "She really, really _loves _you. And she _will _believe you. And she won't be scared of you and she won't run away. She'll respect you and she'll love you just as much if not more than Emily loves Sam and Kim loves Jared and Rachel loves Paul." I winced at that last pairing. I still wasn't happy that Paul of all people had imprinted on my sister.

I smiled and put my other hand on top of Bella's. "Thanks, Bells. Thanks a lot."

She returned the smile and took her hands back to take another sip of hot chocolate.

I heard a soft stirring in the other room and leaned away from Bella, drinking from my mug. "She's awake," I murmured.

Bella frowned. "How do you know?"

I tapped my ear. "I can hear her."

"Holy crap, Jake," Bella groaned. "Why is it that everyone I hang out with is more efficient than me?"

I chuckled and patted her head as I went to check on Emma.

She was stretching out on the sofa, her arms over her head. Her mouth formed a perfect little O as she yawned. When she relaxed she blinked and smiled as she focuses on me in the doorway. "Hi, Jake."

"Hey," I said, going and kneeling by her head. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not sick, Jacob," she laughed. "And I'm perfectly fine." She pushed herself up off the couch. I stood too and was a little surprise when she wrapped her arms around my waist. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, we're having a bonfire down on the rez today," I told her, hugging her back. "You're welcome to come. I think Bella's tagging along, too."

"If it's okay with Edward," Bella called from the doorway. We both turned to see her smiling a little, one eyebrow raised, daring me to say object.

I shrugged. "Do what you want Bella," I said. It wasn't rude or bitter. I was being honest. She could do what she wanted. I wasn't going to control her anymore.

She made a little "hmm" noise and went back into the kitchen to clean up.

"Well _I'd _love to go," Emma said eagerly, removing her arms from my waist. "I'll finally get to meet all your friends."

I smirked.

"What?" she said.

"You're more cheerful than usual."

"I don't often get to wake up to see you standing there, do I?" she asked, playfully nudging me in the ribs as she walked past me.

I raised my eyebrows as I followed her into the kitchen. Maybe Bella was right.

--

I was marvelling in the fact that Emma was tucking herself into my side as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I don't know if she really was cold like she'd told me—she was wearing a jacket and blue knit toque—but I really didn't care why she was snuggling next to me, only that she was. Willingly. It felt nice. My heart was thumping so loudly I was scared she'd hear it, and my stomach was fluttering sickeningly.

The fire spat and crackled in the pit, flames flying every which way. Billowing smoke rose up to meet the heavens, clouding a rarely clear night. The salty sting of ocean air blew our way, but the fire was like a shield for us.

Everyone was there. The whole pack and their imprints (except Claire, who was probably sleeping right now), the elders, Sue Clearwater and Bella. Even Leah had come along, though she sat far away from all of us, her face drawn, her eyes hard.

Bella had been absolutely right. This was the perfect setting to tell Emma. About me being a werewolf. About the imprint. About everything.

Billy rambled on about the tribal legends. I was surprised when Emma perked up a little when he mentioned the wolves. I looked at her questioningly, but she only smiled her beautiful smile at me and went back to listening intently. She was the only one who hadn't heard the stories before; everyone else seemed slightly bored. Except for Bella, of course. She drank the story in with the same fascination as she had when she'd first heard it, all that time ago.

When at last the story was over and everyone had eaten, I pulled Emma aside, claiming I needed some cool air. We walked along First Beach, hand in hand. She held the collar of her jacket closer around her neck with her free hand. I looked over at her and smirked playfully. "You're such a baby with the cold."

"Shut up, fever man," she joked back, smiling up at me.

"No, really. I mean, even Bella wasn't this weak."

She scowled at me, but I caught the light gleam in her eyes. "Bella's been here longer."

We walked in silence for a few long moments before I began the long explanation that was ahead of me. "So…what did you think of the stories?"

"They were amazing," she said brightly, smiling at me again. "I loved them. So interesting. I've always been interested in tribal legends and things. I took First Nations Studies back in Phoenix." She laughed once, almost to herself. "At school, there's this class called Local History. We studied the Quileutes a little bit, but it was nothing compared to what your Dad and Mr. Ateara had to say. I bet I could teach the class a lesson or two now."

I raised my eyebrows and looked down at her. "You studied us in your class?"

"Just a little. We mostly focused on vegetation development and crap."

"What did you learn about us?"

"Nothing more than I just heard now. The elders filled in the blanks for me," she added, grinning again.

I waited a few moments before continuing, hoping she would stick to the conversation and carry it in the direction I needed it to. "Which was your favourite story?" I asked lamely.

"Um…." She thought for a moment. "The oldest one, where the men could leave their bodies and the Chief turned into a wolf." She giggled. "I know they're just legends, but that would be the coolest thing ever."

I couldn't believe my luck. This would be easier than I thought. I found myself grinning like a fool. All I had to do now was deny the comment she made about the stories being legends. "Well, actually," I began. "They're not all just legends."

She looked up at me, her smile gone, a look of confusion crinkling her soft features. "Huh?"

Now I began to get nervous. I wanted to much to believe all that Bella had said, but the words still got stuck in my throat. I was so scared she'd turn away from me. That she'd hate me and think I was lying and run. Or worse, that she would accept it and label me as a monster. I couldn't lose her that way. I just couldn't.

"Well," I said again, pausing, trying to get my thoughts together. _Just tell her. She has to know. It's the way of the imprint. She has to know. Tell her, dammit. _"I mean, the legends you heard tonight…they're not all just legends. Some of the stories were true."

Her mouth fell open a little, but she was definitely listening. "Which ones were true?"

"Your…your favourite," I stammered quietly. "Your favourite story. That was true. That actually happened."

She blinked several times, and then looked ahead. There were several moments before she spoke. "They actually turned into wolves?"

"_We_ actually _turn _into wolves," I corrected, using the present tense.

Her gaze shot back to me. So many emotions played across her face. Disbelief—that was the biggest one—surprise, anger. I was devastated when I saw the anger. I didn't want her to be angry at me.

"_What?_" she spat after a long moment in which she seemed to be thinking of what to say. "You're telling me that you can turn into a wolf. A _wolf, _Jake? Come on." She scoffed and pulled her hand from mine, folding her arms over her chest.

"You don't believe me?" I asked stupidly. I was hurt and scared and devastated. Bella had promised she wouldn't react like this. I'd been so sure Emma liked me enough to know I would never lie to her. Now I was going to lose her.

She kicked at a loose pebble. "I _really _hope you're just joking around and not questioning my intelligence," she snapped in response.

"You…don't believe me," I said again in barely a whisper.

"_How _can I believe you, Jacob?" she asked sharply. "It's ridiculous. It's insane. It's not _humanely possible _to transform into a wolf!" Her voice had risen in pitch. She was almost yelling. "I can't believe this. How could you lie to me like this?"

"Why would I lie to you?" I cried, feeling tears burn in my eyes. "I would never, _ever _lie to you, Emma, you should know that!"

"Should I?" she demanded, stopping suddenly.

I swung around and planted myself in front of her, desperate for her to understand. "Yes. Emma, I…_care_ about you. Way too much to ever even _consider_ lying to you. I mean, why would I lie about something like _this _anyway? It's even more unbelievable as a lie than as the truth!"

She breathed heavily for a few moments, her mouth opening and closing, searching for words. She still had her arms crossed tightly across her front. She sighed. Then, "Show me."

"What?"

"If you're so sure that you're not bullshitting me, you had better prove it to me right now." She stood there, waiting.

"I…not right now."

Emma wheeled around and stalked off across the beach.

"Emma!" I called. I caught up to her in a few strides. "I meant, not here. I mean I…kind of have to strip down, otherwise my clothes will get wrecked." I gripped her shoulder, desperate for her to stay and understand. "I _will_ show you. We just need to go somewhere with more cover."

She didn't turn around. She just stood, rooted to the spot. "Where?" she asked, the word a harsh slap.

"Just in the trees over there. It's close enough so you can run screaming back to the campfire," I added as a joke.

Emma turned to look at me, horror in her wide blue eyes.

"Whoa, whoa. I was kidding." I took her face in my shaking hands. "Please, Emma, for me. Don't actually run away screaming. I need you to understand. This is a part of me that I can't keep from you anymore."

She searched my face for a very long moment, and then, finally, to my utter relief, the anger melted from her eyes. Now she only looked at me with a reproachfulness that sent shivers down my spine. But it was better than anger.

She pulled her face from my hands. "Okay. Show me."

I wrapped my hand around hers and pulled her across the remaining beach towards a low cover of trees. She perched on the edge of a boulder as I went behind some bushes to pull my shorts off. I made it so that she could still see the top half of me, so that she wouldn't think I just went behind a bush and shoved a wolf out after me or something.

I stepped out of my shorts, the whole time keeping my eyes on hers. I felt the familiar lick of flame at my spine as my whole frame shook. And then I phased.

Emma screamed.

* * *

**Well, hiya, guys!! I realized this is the first time I've actually talked to you as the author! Well, I'm AllzStar. I REALLY hope you like my story. But I wouldn't know, since only ONE PERSON HAS BEEN REVIEWING LATELY....please, please, PLEASE review!! It makes me wanna wright more!! The more reviews I get, the better quality my chapters will be. I dont know how many people are actually reading this, but please review, reviews = love and make me happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**-AllzStar**


	18. Believe

**Not My Type**

_AllzStar_

- Emma -

As soon as Jacob's flaming hot skin came in contact with mine, my limbs thawed out and I could move again. I wiggled out of his grasp—which is harder than you think—and bolted out of the trees, sprinting as fast as I could across the loose stones. More than once my foot got caught between two large stones and twisted painfully, but I still just got up and kept running.

I wasn't sure just what I was running from. I don't think I was running from Jacob so much as that monster he had supposedly turned into. I couldn't believe this. Sixteen-year-olds—or anyone, for that matter—just don't transform into wolves on command—they don't turn into wolves at _all!_ And that thing was _massive. _

I knew that Jacob wasn't following me. If he was, he would have caught me by now. I couldn't help but remember his face when I'd turned to run away. His expression was so contorted in pain it broke my heart…I could swear he'd had tears in his eyes, too…. But, really, could he seriously expect me to just accept something like this? It was insane!

I was hoping I could just get to Bella's truck without being noticed and stay there until it was time to go home. But of course, everyone at the campfire had been alerted by my strangled sobs. I hadn't realized till then that I was crying.

Bella caught me first. I ran into her headlong, struggling to get away, to hide my face and she sheer terror that was bound to be there. But her arms were firmly wrapped around me. When I glanced up that one of the Quileute boys also had me in an iron grip, which would explain why Bella had been able to hold me for so long.

Bella pulled away, sure now that I would not get away so long as I was trapped in the tall boy's arms. She put a hand on either side of my face. "Emma," she whispered. "Emma, calm down. Please. For Jacob, Emma, you need to cool it—_right now_!" Her voice was soft, but I heard the urgency in her words.

I struggled, still, against my human prison, thrashing and cursing, ashamed at my rough, childish behaviour but unable to stop the panic that flowed through me. Tears still fell from my eyes at a rapid pace and in large quantities.

Bella kept murmuring soothing words to me, but I was beyond hearing them.

I collapsed in the boy's arms, sinking to my knees before I could stop myself. Bella took me away from him; I was a little reluctant to leave their warm embrace but didn't dare protest.

There was a muffled ripping sound and several shouts; someone roared "PAUL!" in a very loud, commanding voice. Someone else—a girl, it sounded like—screamed in what sounded like pain. Suddenly I was out of Bella's arms, my back flat against the stone of the cliff, staring up into bright amber eyes, dark with rage.

I was looking into the face of an enormous silver wolf.

I was too terrified to move.

The wolf lifted its head, a feral snarling ripping through its barred teeth. The sound jogged something in my memory but my fear pushed it away. The wolf's teeth suddenly lunged at me.

It all happened very fast. One second I was sure I was dying—I could see only a bright white light. Then, in the next second only, I was looking up at the belly of another wolf—this one a rich russet brown. _Jacob. _The thought was whispered through my head, and I believed it.

The snarls grew—in numbers and in ferocity.

The Jacob-wolf was standing over me protectively, his tail between his hind legs. His jaw was locked, his razor-sharp teeth barred. His lips pulled back menacingly as he growled. His large ears were lying flat back against his skull.

I sat up (yes, he was so big that I was able to sit up straight without even grazing my head against his belly) and absently reached up to tangle my fingers in a clump of russet fur. I thought I felt the Jacob-wolf shudder, but I wasn't sure if it was at my touch or in anger. He didn't look back at me.

"Stop them!" someone shouted, and I recognized Bella's voice.

"Get Bella out of here," someone else ordered in a low, powerful voice.

"No!" Bella shrieked. I briefly heard the sound of a struggle. "No! _No! _NO!" She continued screaming until her cries faded into the distance.

"Sue, Billy, Mr. Ateara, I think it best if you go home now," the powerful voice commanded.

There were murmured agreements and retreating footsteps.

The voice spoke again, a little softer this time. "Kim, Rachel, Emily…off you go."

There was a soft protest—"No!"—but I heard the girls retreated away, too.

"Back off, boys," said the voice.

There were several growls in response.

"I said _back off,_" the voice barked. "You don't want to hurt her."

The snarls turned into low growls, barely audible.

The Jacob-wolf did not relax.

"Calm down, Jacob," said the voice. "It's okay. She's safe. Phase back so we can talk."

Jacob-wolf shook his shaggy head.

"Jacob," the voice said warningly.

"He shredded his clothes, too," said another voice, this one with a slightly joking tone.

"I don't care. Phase."

There was the most peculiar, shimmering sensation in the air, and suddenly Jacob was standing over me. _All _of him. I closed my eyes and rolled over onto my stomach, horrifically uncomfortable.

"If she gets _one scratch, _I swear—I'll kill you all," Jacob said in a threatening tone I had never heard him use.

"She'll be fine," snapped the powerful voice. "You know the treaty laws. Whoever harms her will die, too."

Jacob growled and his whole frame began to quiver.

"Control, Jacob," the voice commanded.

"If this was Emily, Sam?" Jacob asked darkly.

Now it was Sam's turn to growl. "Just get her out of here. Explain everything. If she doesn't believe you…well, that's your problem."

I lifted my head to find out what the hell was going on. I was lying underneath Jacob, facing Sam, who was now walking away. To my horror, there were several other boys who were completely naked—I tried to block them from my vision with my fingers. There were two boys facing us, one naked, the other pulling on a pair of shorts. The naked one was still as tense and angry as Jacob was, and their eyes were locked. The other one, who now, thankfully, had shorts on, placed a hand on his buddy's shoulder and finally managed to pull him away.

I looked left and right. There were several more beings here. I say beings because most of them were wolves; enormous and frightening. One of them, more slight and feminine than the others, was looking right at me, something of an accusation in her eyes. I shuddered and looked away, placing my face back on the stone.

There were several more shimmering sensations and scrambling as people pulled on clothes. I didn't dare to look until the scrambling had stopped.

Warm fingers pried my frozen ones from my eyes, and I looked up into Jacob's dark eyes, the lashes still wet with tears. He offered me a weak smile. "Are you okay." It wasn't a question. He needed to know that I was.

I only stared at him, open mouthed.

He swept me up into his arms faster than I would have thought possible. I pressed my cheek to his shoulder, his warmth comforting me beyond words. I curled my whole body into him, absorbing as much warmth as possible. I breathed in his sent—pine trees and soil—and pressed my hands into his chest. When my fingertips made contact he shivered slightly.

I was barely aware of the retreating footsteps—the rest of the…_pack, _I guess, was leaving. Leaving us alone.

"I'm sorry, Emma," Jacob whispered, kissing the top of my head. "I'm so, so sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," I choked out, my voice rough and horrible from tears and fear. "I…I should have believed you. I'm a terrible, terrible friend. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Shh," Jake said, brushing a stray piece of hair from my face. "It's okay. I know it's all a little…strange right now."

"I believe you," I whispered. "I should have right from the start. But I believe you now."

"Thank you," Jake replied, kissing my head again. Then, "I imprinted on you."

"What?"

"I imprinted on you. Imprinting is sort of like love at first sight for us werewolves. Once a werewolf imprints, the subject of their imprinting becomes their whole world, their one and only vice. The wolf will do anything for her. She becomes the center of his universe." He smiled widely.

I blinked, taking it all in. "So…you feel that way about me?"

"I feel that way and beyond about you," he replied happily.

I laughed once, dryly. "Well…I'm going to believe everything you say from now on," I managed to say. "But are you sure you…imprinted on me? I mean, I'm nothing special."

"You have _no idea _how truly special, how utterly _amazing _you are, Emma. I cannot even find words that are capable of properly describing you." He kissed my hair, again. Then, thoughtfully, "I love you."

I didn't even think about it. "I love you, too."

I looked up at him, into those big, brown eyes, and smiled, knowing that what I had just said was absolutely true. I did love him. I had loved him all along. I had known it—deep down—but I had just…hesitated. _No more of that_, I thought happily.

He smiled back, and leaned down to press his scorching lips to mine.

--

**Is it too evil of me to leave the chapter there? Sorry!! I just didn't want this to get too long.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it…the secret is out!! So now the action can start lol…I'll try and get the next chapter up this weekend.**

**Thanks for reviewing everyone! Keep it up! :)**

**-AllzStar**


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